When he’s not building a farm with his own two hands, he’s building a company from the ground up.

Richard Morris is a founding partner of m Strategic Partners and had the idea to create a new type of program management firm - one that is actively engaged in all aspects of a project.

He created m Strategic Partners on the guiding principles of building strong relationships, and surrounded himself with a team of architectural, engineering and contracting experts. Richard firmly believes, “You’re only as good as the talent you have on staff. You’re only as good as your team.”

Although Richard is CEO at m Strategic Partners and a Project Executive, he created his role in the company to have no boundaries. One day he’s doing business development, the next he’s working on the finances, another day he’s out on the job site working with the team.

But in the hours Richard isn’t working or responding to emails, he’ll likely be spending time with his family out on the farm or practicing for his next sporting clay tournament.

Prior to starting m Strategic Partners, Richard worked for more than 30 years in the engineering industry.

As Vice President and Senior Project Manager for m Strategic Partners, Stephen Cheatham is responsible for quality control throughout a project, managing and driving the schedule, and coordinating with the project owner and the general contractors.

Before Stephen joined the team at m Strategic Partners in early 2016, he worked as a project manager for a local construction company.

With experience in project role of the program manager and contractor, Stephen enjoys the process of seeing projects come to life. He says; “The most interesting part of my job is the overall process and collaborative effort it takes to build a successful project. No one person can do it alone and to see a site go from a greenfield to a functional building or hospital is very rewarding at the end of the day.”

Prior to working in the A/E/C industry, Stephen served in the United States Air Force as a Munitions Systems Journeyman. He was stationed locally at Ellington Field and completed six years of service.

Outside of work, Stephen enjoys playing golf and spending time with his family. As a Houston sports fan, he’s always rooting for the home team whether it’s baseball, football or basketball season.

With more than 37 years of experience in the A/E/C industry, Richard brought special projects experience to the mSP team to compliment the mSP large project resume.

Richard Mapes joined m Strategic Partners in October 2016 and has been going full speed from day one. As a Project Manager, Richard has brought with him his vast expertise in working with facility capital and infrastructure upgrade projects. This work includes a wide spectrum of project types, from air handler and emergency generator replacements to MRI or Cath Lab room renovations, all in active working healthcare facilities.

Although he has many projects going on simultaneously, Richard takes ownership of every project and works to build a relationship with each project team and hospital leadership team. He is a firm believer in creating trust with everyone on the project to create a project community.

With responsibilities that range from contracts and project financials to construction and schedule management, Richard says everything that happens for the project is as important to him as it is to the rest of the project team.

Prior to joining m Strategic Partners, Richard built a career working in contract administration and facility capital projects. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture. Richard served in the United States Army from 1971 to 1974 in the Army Security Agency and was stationed in Germany.

When he is not focused on mSP projects, Richard loves to just spend his time relaxing with his wife of over 30 years.

As a Project Manager for m Strategic Partners, Charles is busy overseeing the day-to-day operations of a project. Charles assists with project costs, budgeting, and scheduling. He sets up meetings with the construction team and consultants to discuss phases of the projects.

Charles enjoys being on the construction site because he’s able to get updates from the work teams and know the sequence of events of the project. He says, “Walking the site day-to-day and knowing where they’re at in the construction process helps us better understand real-time project finances and status of work in place.”

Prior to joining m Strategic Partners, Charles served in the United States Army with seven years’ active duty as an Airborne Ranger at 3rd Ranger Battalion.

She wasn’t born in Texas, but she got here as quick as she could.

Hailing from Emmet, Nebraska, Oasis Theiss joined m Strategic Partners in July 2016.

As a Project Manager, Oasis focuses her efforts on contributing to the design and construction of major healthcare, residential and hospitality projects where she is responsible for facilitating design and construction meetings, managing document control and coordinating with team consultants for reviews and inspections.

With a passion for design and an interest in the world of construction, Oasis was drawn to the A/E/C industry. She says, “not only is it inspiring to see the stages of a project go from a greenfield to a functioning facility, but it’s great to know the communities will benefit from the healthcare projects.”

After transferring from the University of Nebraska, Oasis completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture with minors in Facility Management and Business at Texas A&M University.

When she’s not facilitating project document control or meetings, or walking the job site, Oasis is likely planning her next travel itinerary, refurbishing old furniture, or spending time with her family.

Claudia Autry joined the m Strategic Partners team in May 2019. A Project Manager, Claudia is responsible for helping to lead firm efforts for energy efficient projects, creating and evaluating assessments of the building and equipment conditions for optimization, renovation, maintenance and repairs.

With a degree in Architectural Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, Claudia brings more than 17 years of experience to the firm. As a Professional Engineer in the State of Texas, she has designed multiple buildings and renovations in higher education and healthcare, proposed maintenance programs, and proposed and implemented optimization plans of the building operations. 

As a part of the green building community, she has participated in certifying multiple buildings under EnergyStar and US Green Building Council’s LEED program, including several LEED Silver Buildings. She has also been certified as a Certified Energy Manager and continues to maintain her US Green Building Council LEED AP Certification since 2005.

Away from the office, Claudia is passionate about helping others improve their lives and has a mission to create more balance in the world. She is a consulting hypnotist, enjoys teaching and running the school of hypnosis, as well as speaking on the interconnectedness of humanity and empowering people to have more acceptance and balance in their individual lives. And with a love for food and traveling, Claudia has visited countries all across the globe. She enjoys submerging herself in new cultures and discovering new flavors along the way.

Bob Clark joined the m Strategic Partners team in June 2019. As a Project Manager, he is responsible for managing quality control throughout a project, driving the project schedule, and coordinating with the project owner and consultants.

With a degree Architecture from Texas Tech University and as a registered architect, Bob brings more than 40 years of experience to the firm. Bob’s project experience has an emphasis on the healthcare market, completing greenfield construction as well as the expansion and renovation of hospitals, labs and research facilities.

Driven by a passion for technical details, Bob has always had a desire to be a part of the A/E/C industry. When he was a young child Bob started working on projects around his house, doing repairs, pouring concrete, and overhauling cars, and turned his love for problem solving and technically complex projects into a career.

Born in Lubbock, Bob has lived all across Texas from Dallas to Houston. Outside of the office, Bob spends time with his family. He also regularly travels the state to celebrate spiritual practices. Bob also is involved with the community, starting a support group for spouses who experience relationship trauma.

After starting his career working on oil rigs in the Gulf, Sean Foster has planted his roots on dry land and focused his efforts on Program Management.

Sean joined the team at m Strategic Partners in August 2017. A Project Coordinator, Sean is busy overseeing the day-to-day construction activities of a project. He assists with project logistics, scheduling and budgeting, and is on-site every day with a great understanding of all the project details.

With a background as an experienced Journeyman Electrician and Steward, Sean has an appreciation for the complexity of the role of project manager. He says, “As an electrician, you do your one job on a project and make it look good. But as the program manager that coordinates all of the moving parts of a project, it’s our responsibility to make sure all the project teams are able to do their jobs.”

Sean has a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Science from University of Houston, and is a fourth generation electrician.

Outside of work you can always catch Sean rooting for his favorite Houston sports teams (Go ‘Stros!). He likes to spend his time outside playing golf, baseball or softball. Fun fact: Sean played in the 1996 Little League World Series. But, when he’s not thinking about sports, Sean is following his love of music by searching for his next favorite artist, or spending time with his wife and young daughter.

Trish Wagner joined the m Strategic Partners team in June 2019. As a Project Coordinator, Trish brings more than 15 years of industry experience with her to the firm.

With a background working for project owners, Trish has been in project roles ranging from project manager to general contractor to superintendent. She brings experience in green building, LEED programs and working with high quality, Class A building finishes. On every project Trish brings her ability to get in to the very fine details on design, schedule and budget.

In her role at m Strategic Partners, Trish is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day construction activities of a project. She assists with project logistics, scheduling and budgeting, and is on-site with a great understanding of all the project details.

Originally hailing from Arizona, Trish lived in California for more than 20 years and attended school at Ventura College before moving to Houston in 2013. Outside of the office, Trish loves spending time with her teenage son and lives an active lifestyle, playing volleyball, kickball, and softball every week.

From Texas to Colombia to California to Angola and back to Texas, Monica joined the m Strategic Partners team in 2014.

As a Financial Analyst, Monica is responsible for project financials, including budget control and forecasting, processing invoices and purchase orders. She gives support to the projects by keeping a constant flow of information between the project owner and the design and construction teams.

Monica enjoys seeing the entire development of a project and working with m Strategic Partners because she believes it truly is a team effort. She says, “Richard knows how to lead the team to the final goal, always focusing on the solutions and moving forward.”

Prior to joining m Strategic Partners, Monica worked in the design and construction industry in California and Colombia. Monica attended university in Colombia where she earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in strategic management.

When she’s not at the office, Monica spends time with her husband and two children. Having lived all across the globe, Monica has a passion for traveling. She loves being outside and exploring new cities by foot.

Green building, permaculture, resilience – the interests of m Strategic Partners’ resident green enthusiast Kim Sullivan.

As a project consultant, Kim provides insight to design and construction challenges through the course of a project. She helps lead the the project to effective and efficient design approaches.

With a degree in architectural engineering, Kim was initially drawn to the the design and construction industry from her interest of combining the creativity of architecture with the math base of engineering.

Before joining the team at m Strategic Partners, Kim worked in the world of healthcare engineering at a national engineering firm and later did government sustainability work.

From best practices to building and design codes, Kim enjoys the challenge of bringing all of the project aspects together. Kim says, “I find it rewarding to help facilitate projects in all stages of programming, design and construction.”

Since moving from Texas to Colorado, Kim also enjoys the challenge of gardening in a state with real seasons. Oftentimes, you can find Kim hiking through The Centennial State, finding a new recipe to make or planning the travel agenda for her next family vacation.

As the m Strategic Partners Marketing Coordinator, Julie Blanco has a wide range of responsibilities. She creates all SOQ/RFP submittals, maintains the mSP website, social media and newsletters, manages company/project events – like our Cars and Clays Sporting Clay Shoot, and organizes the community outreach activities.

Julie joined the team in August 2015 and has since been a driving force for m Strategic Partners. She is a Fightin’ Texas Aggie with a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Journalism from Texas A&M. A former collegiate runner, she still tries to log some weekly miles in between finding the next great recipe and working on her golf swing.

A native Texan, Lyndsay Holbrook joined the m Strategic Partners team in May 2019.

As the Business Operations Manager, Lyndsay is responsible for all of m Strategic Partners human resource management, internal and external office bookkeeping and financial processes, and general office management. Working closely with administrative staff, Lyndsay will help ensure successful daily office operations, promoting delivery of the highest quality projects by m Strategic Partners.

“As the Business Operations Manager it’s my job to establish business practices that create the highest level of efficiency possible within mSP,” she says. “I really enjoy the process side of operations and being able to provide solutions that help m Strategic Partners focus on execution and hitting our goals.”

Lyndsay has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from Sam Houston State University with a background in property management and personal finance. 

Outside of work, Lyndsay has a passion for living a healthy lifestyle with her two small dogs. She enjoys taking the time to make home-cooked meals, and as a consistent runner, she loves to log her weekly mileage on the local trails.

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Melissa didn’t have to look far to become an m Strategic Partners team member. 

With a 15-year background working in the oil and gas industry, Melissa Kirkpatrick joined m Strategic Partners in October 2016 and quickly became a significant part of the team.

As the Office Coordinator, Melissa has become the heart of the office – keeping everyone and everything running. One day she’s keeping up with Richard’s schedule, the next she’s troubleshooting for projects at the office, another she’s helping with financials. Whatever it takes to keep everyone running efficiently.

“As office coordinator it’s my job to take care of the team at m Strategic Partners,” she says. “I’m here to make sure they have the top-level support they need to continue producing the highest quality projects.”

In her time outside of the office, you can often find Melissa curled up with a book or watching a documentary. But, with a passion for music and a love of live entertainment, Melissa regularly visits the live music capital of the world – Austin, Texas – to scope out the next big artist, and even enjoys an evening spent laughing at the local comedy club.