CYPRESS REALTY TEAM
Washington Office
Patrick Cave
Mr. Cave is a Co-Founder and Partner of Cypress. Along with his partners, Mr. Cave is responsible for setting the strategic direction of Cypress, managing its public policy expertise, business development, raising debt and equity for the firm, and meeting with community stakeholders. Mr. Cave is a member of the management committee that sets the strategic direction for the firm. Since Cypress’ founding in 2006, Mr. Cave has helped lead the company’s development of workforce housing in the Baton Rouge area as well as its work as developer for the AHPP in Louisiana.
Ben Dupuy
Mr. Dupuy is a Co-Founder and Partner of Cypress. Mr. Dupuy helps lead the firm’s daily operations, with a focus on community development, governmental policy, tax incentives, raising debt and equity, business development, planning, and design. Mr. Dupuy is a member of the management committee that sets the strategic direction for the firm. Since Cypress’ founding in 2006, Mr. Dupuy has helped lead the company’s development of workforce housing in the Baton Rouge area as well as its work as developer for the AHPP in Louisiana. Mr. Dupuy was instrumental in assembling the AHPP project team.
William Smith
Mr. Smith is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Cypress. Mr. Smith is responsible for the daily operations of the company including project and financial management, construction, business development, capital raising, legal compliance, and administrative policy. Along with his partners Mr. Dupuy and Mr. Cave, Mr. Smith sets the strategic direction for the company. Since Cypress’ founding in 2006, Mr. Smith has led the company’s development of workforce housing in the Baton Rouge area as well as its work as developer for the Louisiana AHPP. Mr. Smith led Cypress’ contract negotiations with both State of Louisiana and FEMA officials and was instrumental in developing the project budget and assembling the project team. He is active in managing all aspects of Cypress’ work on the AHPP.
Baton Rouge Office
Scott Kirkpatrick
Mr. Kirkpatrick serves as Counsel for Cypress for the Louisiana AHPP. Mr. Kirkpatrick performs legal, regulatory, and compliance functions for the company’s work on the Louisiana AHPP, including coordinating the bonding and insurance required for Cypress and its subcontractors.
In addition to working with the LRA, Mr. Kirkpatrick has worked closely with the State of Louisiana, Louisiana Housing Finance Agency, Louisiana National Guard, Housing Authority of New Orleans, and Federal Emergency Management Agency to execute contracts and ensure legal and regulatory compliance with federal and state laws. Mr. Kirkpatrick’s construction law experience extends outside public contracts and includes private land acquisition, planning and zoning issues and private sector construction contracts with general contractors for “stick-built” as well as modular housing. Prior to joining Cypress, Mr. Kirkpatrick served in state and federal government in a number of capacities as a staffer to U.S. Senator John Breaux, U.S. Congressman Richard Baker, and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco.
Jennifer Logan
Ms. Logan serves as Co-Program Manager for the Louisiana AHPP for Cypress. Ms. Logan is responsible for overall program management including planning, design, construction, and reporting and serves as the focal point for communication among the various involved parties to assure that required work is completed on time and within budget. In addition to the LRA, Ms. Logan works closely with local partners including the Louisiana National Guard at Jackson Barracks, the Housing Authority of New Orleans, the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority, and Habitat for Humanity. Ms. Logan is also responsible for the company's financial plans and policies, accounting practices, relationships with lending institutions, maintenance of fiscal records, and the preparation of all financial reports. Ms. Logan’s experience in real estate development and construction spans more than six years and encompasses both private development and government housing programs. She began her career in the industry as the Director of Finance and Operations for a $10 million Houston area development and construction company.
Chris Rinaudo
Mr. Rinaudo is a Managing Director for Cypress and brings over seven years of program management and development experience. Mr. Rinaudo is Co-Program Manager for the Louisiana AHPP, focusing on planning, design, and construction. Mr. Rinaudo has overseen a team of architects, engineers, and general contractors for the design and installation of civil infrastructure for 91 units at Jackson Barracks as well construction of the homes at other Louisiana AHPP sites. Mr. Rinaudo also has worked directly with the many public stakeholders in the Louisiana AHPP including the LRA, Governor Jindal’s office, local governments, and FEMA. Prior to joining Cypress in 2007, Mr. Rinaudo served as Deputy Director for The Shaw Group in a joint venture with KB Home to build housing in the hurricane-devastated areas of New Orleans and in Baton Rouge. Before the 2005 hurricanes, Mr. Rinaudo served as a Finance Manager for American Eagle Communities, a Shaw Group subsidiary responsible for developing military housing as part of the Military Housing Privatization Initiative. Under his direction, the finance team funded the development of approximately 12,000 homes for a total of $1.3 billion in bond financing.
Erik Spansel
As a Project Manager for the Louisiana AHPP, Mr. Spansel oversees various construction sites and assists with day-to-day administration activities for the entire program. Since joining Cypress in May of 2008, Mr. Spansel has spent the majority of his time working on the Louisiana AHPP. His responsibilities include financial analysis of the program budget, regular financial and informative reports to the LRA, assistance with the solicitation of contractors, management of general contractors, and coordination between all parties involved – the state, general contractors, third party landowners, and municipal agencies. Prior to joining Cypress, Mr. Spansel spent two years working in New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina disaster relief contractors in project controls and project management. Immediately following the hurricane, Mr. Spansel joined Fluor Corporation as a project controls analyst on the company’s billion-dollar temporary housing assistance project through which the company installed over 53,000 FEMA trailers. After the completion of Fluor’s contract, Mr. Spansel served as project manager for a contractor responsible for the maintenance and deactivation of FEMA trailers. Mr. Spansel managed project operations including areas such as allocation of work to subcontractors, oversight of the firm’s quality assurance program, project reporting, and client relations.