Development Team

Chris Beary, (wcb@lmhe.live), is a Social Entrepreneur. He is a lifetime New Orleanian with four amazing daughters. Chris attended the University of New Orleans where he received his Bachelor’s in Accounting; he later went onto Tulane University School of Law to complete his J.D. where he graduated Cum Laude. Chris is also a CPA (inactive status).

Chris has focused on many community endeavors moving from law and business to service work in recent years. Over the past three decades, Chris has founded 6 non-profits and is currently managing 5 of them including Grace at the Green Light, The Fat Bankers Social Aid & Pleasure Club, The Funky Uncle Live, Northshore Radio and, his latest endeavor, The Louisiana Music Experience. Chris has been actively involved in his girls’ school and the family Church too. To hear more about Chris’ involvement, CLICK HERE.

Chris’ entrepreneurial spirit has helped him get involved with several businesses in many different industry verticals. Some of Chris’ business endeavors include him as Owner, Officer, Manager or Board Member in industries such as healthcare, gaming, construction, real estate, restaurants, entertainment, retail sales and others. Chris also practiced law for over 25 years, 17 of which he spent as a managing partner of his own firm. During his time as a lawyer, Chris was awarded the “AV” rating by the Martindale-Hubbell rating service which also awarded him the Silver Client Champion Award (given to less than 1% of lawyers).

Reid Wick, (rw@lmhe.live), has served music communities across the South for many years. He is the Recording Academy’s New Orleans-based Membership & Industry Relations representative, where his responsibilities include membership, advocacy, creating professional development and networking programs across a five-state region. For the two years post-Hurricane Katrina, Wick administered the MusiCares’ Hurricane Relief Fund. Reid served Loyola University’s College of Music as marketing communications manager and instructor in Music Industry Studies. He has served on numerous boards and co-owned an indie record label, STR Digital Records, which produced over 25 critically-acclaimed releases. He currently serves on the board of directors of Folk Alliance International and on the steering committee of Greater New Orleans, Inc.’s New Orleans Music Economy (NOME) initiative. He received the 2018 Cutting Edge Music Conference Lifetime Achievement Award. Wick continues to perform regularly as guitarist with New Orleans favorite local party band, the Bucktown All-Stars.

Bob Santelli, (bs@lmhe.live), is the author of more than a dozen books on American music. Bob serves as the Executive D03irector of the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music. He is the founder of the Grammy Museums in Los Angeles, Mississippi, and New Jersey; the former CEO of Experience Music Project in Seattle; and one of the original curators of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland.  Santelli is also a lecturer and producer of American Strings at Oregon State University and a GRAMMY Award-winning record producer.

Jan Jorgensen, (jmj@tnomm.lmhe.live), has over 26 years teaching experience, focusing on the integration of the arts, especially music and dance, into curricula, grades 4-12.  Jan has also helped develop educational platforms for the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles and has consulted on numerous Grammy Museum programs pertaining to music in the classroom.  As project manager, Jan oversees the many initiatives of The Louisiana Music Experience, in addition to her role as its educational liaison to the Louisiana scholastic and academic communities.  She will also be responsible for the creation of a state-wide The Louisiana Music Experience Teacher Advisory Board.  

In over 25 years of professional practice, Steve Dumez, (sdumez@eskewdumezripple.com), has led the design of complex projects in a wide range of building types. As Director of Design for Eskew Dumez Ripple, he oversees the design of all projects from concept to construction documents, working closely with a team of senior designers in ensuring the consistent quality level that drives our design-first practice. His engaging design process concentrates on first developing a detailed design program for clients including building image and brand goals, program compliance, and ultimately physical design drivers. Under his design leadership, EskewDumezRipple has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards for design excellence, including more than 25 national design awards and an additional 100+ awards at the local, state, and regional levels. Steve is a Past-President of AIA Louisiana and AIA New Orleans and serves as an active professional mentor within the region. He has also chaired AIA design awards programs at the local, state, and regional levels and has served on numerous design award juries across the country. He is actively engaged in many local civic organizations and has previously served on the board of the Contemporary Arts Center of New Orleans. His projects have been recently published in several books as well as numerous national architectural and design magazines such as Architect, Architectural Record, Contract, and Interior Design.

Mark Hash, (mhash@eskewdumezripple.com), joined the EskewDumezRipple team in the fall of 2014, bringing invaluable digital design and fabrication experience to the firm. After receiving his Bachelor of Architecture from Louisiana State University, Mark attended Yale University where he received his Master of Architecture degree and was awarded the Inaugural Stanley Tigerman Scholarship for design integrity and excellence. Over the years, Mark has worked for firms such as Trahan Architects in New Orleans, LA, Allied Works Architecture in Portland, OR, and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects in New York, NY. Mark’s passion for design has led him to pursue teaching opportunities, including a graduate course at MIT on coastal restoration and building in a shifting landscape. Some of Mark’s notable projects include Lockport Community Center, World Trade Center Redevelopment, and Fogo De Chao Brazilian Steakhouse.

Robert Brais, (rbrais@consultecon.com) Vice President of ConsultEcon, Inc.  During his 35-year career he has been a business and operations consultant to non-profit institutions, national, state, and local governments and agencies, developers, financial institutions, corporations, and universities.  Mr. Brais specializes in market studies, operating plans, business plans, financial analyses, strategy formulation, and economic and fiscal impact assessment.  His clients range from startups to major organizations.  He assists organizations on concept development, preopening plans, facility expansion, and enhancement of ongoing operations.  He has also served as a project and proposal reviewer for public agencies.  His national and international projects are fully representative of ConsultEcon’s practice. Prior to joining ConsultEcon, Inc. in 1991, Mr. Brais had experience in consulting, real estate, and retail.  Mr. Brais is a member of a number of professional organizations and has an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Boston College.

Justin Landry, (jclandry@stirlingprop.com) joined Stirling Properties in October 2007. As Vice President of Finance and
Capital Markets, his primary focus is to oversee a $1 billion debt portfolio of over 80 loans. It’s Mr. Landry’s role to ensure the debt portfolio is capitalized in the most prudent way to allow for maximum cash flow and flexibility across the entire property portfolio. It’s also
his responsibility to oversee the economic feasibility of new development opportunities
and certain acquisition opportunities. Once the decision is reached to move forward with
a development or acquisition, it is his responsibility to raise the debt capital to source the project and oversee financial and due diligence duties through the close of transaction. Mr. Landry is also in charge of the oversight of all multi-family properties in the Stirling portfolio.

Since 2007, Mr. Landry has placed over $2.0 billion of interim and permanent financings. Additionally, over the course of his career, he has underwritten over $5.5 billion in actual and potential development and acquisition projects.

As asset manager of Stirling’s multifamily portfolio, Mr. Landry is responsible for the oversight of a 1,200-unit apartment portfolio of properties located throughout Louisiana. His role entails financial reporting, budgeting, financing and refinancing, implementation of strategic initiatives, contractual compliance, general client/investor interface, and capital renovations.

Outside of Stirling Properties, Mr. Landry previously served as an Instructor at Louisiana State University for Finance 7720 – Commercial Real Estate Investing from 2012-2018. He is an active member ICSC where he was recently selected as one of 59 individuals under the age of 40 to serve on their Next Generation Leadership Network. He is also a current member of its Scholarship Committee. Mr. Landry serves on various board committees for the St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the 2019 Class of Leadership St. Tammany. He is currently involved with Louisiana Association of Business and Industry’s (LABI) Emerging Leaders Council.

In 2019, he was the recipient of the prestigious ‘Money Makers’ award given by New Orleans CityBusiness for his financial achievements in Real Estate. In 2022, he was named one of the Northshore’s 40 Under 40 business leaders by EDGE of the Lake Magazine. Additionally, Mr. Landry previously served on the Board of Directors for Vinson Guard Service, Inc where he was largely responsible for the sale of the business in 2019 to one of the largest security companies in the U.S. He is also, along with his wife, Founder and Owner of an expanding fitness business, Evolve Studios, soon to have three locations in Louisiana.

In 2020, Mr. Landry was awarded the prestigious CRE® (Counselor of Real Estate) credential by The Counselors of Real Estate®, an international group of high profile real estate practitioners who provide expert advisory services to clients on complex real property and land-related matters. Membership in The Counselors of Real Estate is selective and extended by invitation only, attesting to Mr. Landry’s expertise and proven competence in his chosen area of real estate. Once invited to membership, Counselors must adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Practice. Counselors are recognized in the marketplace as having consistently demonstrated the highest levels of knowledge, experience, integrity, and judgment. Fewer than 1100 real estate professionals currently hold the CRE credential. This is one of the highest credentials one can achieve in real estate.

Mr. Landry graduated in 2007 from Louisiana State University in Finance with a Concentration in Real Estate. During his time there, he was also a pole vaulter on the Track & Field Team where he received the Athletic Directors Cup for the achievement of academic excellence as a student athlete.

Townsend Underhill, (tunderhill@stirlingprop.com) is a member of Stirling Properties’ Executive Leadership Team and serves as President of Development. In his role, he manages the company’s Development Division, which concentrates on seeking, evaluating, and implementing new development, redevelopment,
and acquisition opportunities across various product types, with a focus on retail, healthcare, industrial, multi-family, and office. He also oversees Stirling Properties’ finance group, which has placed in excess of $1.8 billion in debt and raised more than $260 million in equity over the last decade. In addition, Mr. Underhill plays an integral role in Stirling Properties’ corporate strategy, new business development, asset management, facility management, and third-party client relationships. In recent years, his team has also added corporate client services in the development arena for many corporate and institutional clients, including entitlement and permitting of sites, site selection, corporate master planning, asset assessments, and financing and debt strategies.

Recent noteworthy development projects include Dana Inc. Service & Assembly Center in Slidell, Ambassador Town Center in Lafayette, River Chase and Offices at River Chase (mixed-use) in Covington, St. Tammany Cancer Center in Covington, Ochsner Medical Center in LaPlace, Ochsner Medical Complex - The Grove in Baton Rouge, Mid-City Market and Magnolia Marketplace in New Orleans, Fremaux Town Center in Slidell (mixed-use), Nicholson Gateway Retail Development

at LSU in Baton Rouge, Lake Charles Power Center addition in Lake Charles, and Oak Heritage Townhomes in Prairieville (currently under construction).

Mr. Underhill holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Georgia with specializations in Real Estate and Entrepreneurship. He also has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Real Estate from Arizona State University. He is a licensed Real Estate Broker in both Louisiana and Kentucky. In 2015, he was named one of Chain Store Age Magazine’s “10 Under 40” in Real Estate.

Townsend frequently represents Stirling Properties as a guest speaker for copious industry, business, and civic events, including panels for ICSC, ULI, Leadership St. Tammany, and Chambers of Commerce. He also leads academic discussions and mentoring programs for local students and professionals seeking to develop and advance their careers and build relationships in the real estate industry.

Townsend is an avid golfer, skier, wakeboarder, swimmer, and tennis player and enjoys being active. Most of all, he enjoys spending time with his amazing wife and three fantastic children.

Mac Bauer, (mbauer@stirlingprop.com) has been a member of Stirling Properties’ development team since joining the company in 2011. His strengths include recognizing market opportunities and appreciating property value. Mr. Bauer has led the development of notable projects such as Academy Sports + Outdoors in Lake Charles (72,000sf new construction); the Offices at Mid-City Market in New Orleans (55,000sf historic renovation); a freestanding Emergency Department and Imaging Clinic for Ochsner in Laplace (19,500sf new construction, hybrid building); construction of a 600+ unit self-storage facility in Hammond (93,000sf new construction); bankruptcy acquisition of a former hospital in Lacombe (205,000sf building); refinancing of a new rehab hospital in Jefferson (135,000sf new construction); and repurposing of a retail building into a multispecialty clinic in Bossier City (25,000sf PEMB retrofit).

Prior to joining Stirling Properties, Mr. Bauer was a principal with Bauer & Company,
Inc., which, over the course of 25 years, developed several single-tenant properties (e.g., Walgreens, Winn-Dixie, etc.), a mixed-use condominium building (625 St. Charles) in the heart of New Orleans’ warehouse district, and the city’s first motorcoach resort (French Quarter RV Resort), just two blocks from the French Quarter.

Previous positions with Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and Christie’s, both in New York and Germany, have provided Mr. Bauer immeasurable insight into the arenas of financial modeling, investor relations, international asset management, and valuation services. Mr. Bauer graduated from Rutgers University in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in Art History and is fluent in German.