JRH PARTNERS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Accounting Assistant & Retail Management
As an accounting assistant, Amber Goldfuss works closely with our team to ensure that our partners receive timely and accurate reporting on various projects. She plays a key role in the management of all of the retail properties owned by JRHP.
Prior to joining JRHP in 2018, Amber had gained many years of experience in customer service.
She has an Associate's Degree in Surgical Technology from the University of Saint Francis and is now pursuing a second degree in Accounting at TCC.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner
- Owner
- Managing Partner / Presidio Interests, LLC
In 2006, Andrew Blake and Jim Harris founded Presidio Interests, a commercial real estate investment
As managing partner and owner, Andrew oversees Presidio's investment and development activities including
Derek Pampe joined Harris & Straub in 2016. The Austin-based affiliate of James R. Harris Partners, H&S is one of the largest and most respected land and residential developers in Greater Austin. It develops master-planned communities, custom estate subdivisions and infill neighborhoods as well as commercial and multifamily developments.
With three decades of real estate development experience, Derek has successfully managed more than 40 projects through the development process including site acquisition, design, entitlement, financing and site development. In concert with a team of professionals, he is chiefly responsible for turning concept into reality for each H&S community. His detailed involvement in every step in the process demonstrates a broad skill set and sincere commitment to quality.
Prior to joining H&S, Derek was a director of land acquisition for a private developer-homebuilder and an asset manager for a private equity firm.
Derek graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics with high honors.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Member of the Real Estate Council of Austin
A new addition to the Harris & Straub team as of March 2022, Jake Straub brings with him 8 years of local experience in land acquisition, entitlement, and planning from two Fortune 500 homebuilders. After spending his first four years out of college at CalAtlantic Homes, Jake transitioned to DR Horton, both the top builder by volume in the Austin market, as well as the nation, where he participated in the site selection, contract negotiation, underwriting, due diligence, planning, engineering, and entitlement of over 20,000 lots in just four short years, resulting in an ultimate value in excess of $2B.
In addition to his employment experience, Jake is a member of the Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA), on the Master-Planned Community Local Member Council for the ULI Austin Chapter, on the Leadership Development Council for the Texas Can Academies, a 501c(3) organization providing education to the youth of Texas, and a Vice Chair of several committees with Rodeo Austin, a 501c(3) organization that provides over $2M in scholarships annually to 4H and FFA students statewide.
Job Titles:
- Founding Partner
- Founder of James R. Harris Partners, Mark
- Founding Partner / James R. Harris Partners, LLC
Jim Harris has been successfully developing and investing in real estate since 1975. With experience in the title insurance, real estate and homebuilding industries, he founded James R. Harris Partners in Fort Worth in 1979. He entered the Austin market in 1992. Today, Harris & Straub, an affiliate of James R. Harris Partners, is one of the most respected and largest land and residential developers in Greater Austin.
Jim knows the ins and outs, the rules and the exceptions, in successful and responsible land use. With his solid track record and long-standing relationships, he has an acute ability to spot and seize developing opportunities, and he is adept at anticipating and capitalizing on new trends in land use.
Jim stays abreast of issues affecting real estate by taking an active role in business, city and community organizations. He is an organizer and member of the Board of Directors of First Texas BHC, Inc. and Southwest Bank, Fort Worth; a Builder Member of the Urban Land Foundation and a member the Neighborhood Residential Council of the Urban Land Institute and the ULI North Texas District Council. He served as vice-chair of the board of commissioners of the Fort Worth Housing Authority; a member of the Fort Worth Mayor's Task Force for Affordable Housing; chairman of the board of Trinity Terrace, a continuing care retirement community in Fort Worth; and on numerous community boards and committees concerning Fort Worth city zoning and development policies.
Jim graduated from Austin College with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Biology and continued his studies by earning an MBA from Texas Christian University.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner / Harris & Straub, LLC
Since 2003, Joe Straub has been a partner of Harris & Straub, the Austin-based affiliate of James R. Harris Partners. H&S, one of the largest and most respected land and residential developers in the Greater Austin area, develops master-planned communities, custom estate subdivisions and infill neighborhoods as well as commercial and multifamily developments.
With four decades of highly diversified and responsive management experience, Joe has been involved in all aspects of real estate development including sales, marketing and management. He is area partner and co-managing partner of numerous real estate developments in the Greater Austin area.
Active in the community, Joe serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Rodeo Austin. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Civil Engineering from Kansas State University.
Born and raised in Austin, Texas Justin Straub joined Harris & Straub in 2019. Justin gained an appreciation for land during his childhood growing up around his father's residential developments. With experience in landscape design and utilities Justin collaborates closely with contractors on the jobsites and manages the construction process. He previously worked for MMLA a local Austin based landscape architecture company. Prior to joining H&S, Justin worked for Denbow Construction Company specializing in dry utility install. A proud member of the community, Justin volunteers for Rodeo Austin, a non-profit organization.
Justin Welborn is involved in acquisition, entitlement, development and disposition of residential land projects. He is a managing partner for several entities and has been involved in the development process for more than 3,000 single-family lots.
His education and experience have provided him with intimate knowledge of a developer's responsibilities. He has superior understanding of plans and how to guide them through a city approval process, as well as the ability to look at a piece of land and accurately assess its potential and its challenges.
Prior to joining JRHP in 2006, Justin worked as a project manager for a publically traded homebuilder and as a residential development engineer at a local engineering consulting firm. Active in professional and public affairs, he is a member of the North Richland Hills Planning and Zoning Commission, North Richland Hills Strategic Planning Committee and Communities in Schools of Greater Tarrant County.
Licensed as a professional engineer in Texas, Justin graduated from The University of Texas at Arlington with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and an MBA.
Job Titles:
- President
- Vice President - JRHP / Founder and President - 8 Feet Development
In 2014, Mark Harris founded 8 Feet Development, a commercial real estate development company, to purchase, preserve, repurpose and lease older buildings. An affiliate of James R. Harris Partners, the company specializes in adding value for its investors by saving and repurposing classic but underutilized buildings in Dallas/Fort Worth and Greater Austin. The company name, 8 Feet Development, was inspired by the fact that the company's four owners are Mark, his wife and their two children.
President of 8 Feet Development, Mark also has positions at the following companies of James R. Harris Partners: vice president, asset and property manager of JRHP; vice president of asset properties for HF Management Cos.; and property manager of Foch Street LP, Foch South LP and Ridgmar Retail Group. He is involved in raw land acquisition, redevelopment and management, analysis of potential properties, lease negotiation, partnership establishment and investor relations.
As the son of Jim Harris, founder of James R. Harris Partners, Mark grew up in the commercial and residential real estate development business. Through the years, he has established long-term relationships with tenants and vendors. He has built a strong foundation of business based on loyalty and family. Earlier in his career, Mark was a retail leasing broker for The Woodmont Company in Fort Worth, and he was a construction superintendent for D. R. Horton Homes and Choice Homes, both in San Antonio.
Active in industry affairs, he is currently a Certified Commercial Investment Member candidate and a member of the Urban Land Institute, the International Council of Shopping Centers and the Society of Commercial Realtors of Fort Worth. In the community, he serves on Camp Fire USA's Outdoors Development Programing Board and on the First Presbyterian Church's Fort Worth Property Committee.
As the administrative assitant, Morgan Whatley assists the staff with the day-to-day administrative duties for the partners and accounting staff at JRHP.
Morgan is currently working towards a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting from the University of Texas at Arlington, and later hopes to obtain her Masters degree and sit for the CPA Exam.
Robert Barham is involved in the development of residential, commercial, and multi-family land. His primary area of expertise is developing residential lots for single family home builders. He has completed and is currently developing over 1,300 acres representing over 4,000 residential home sites and over 95 acres of Commercial, Retail, and Multi-Family land.
He is responsible for all activities of a project, including finding new projects, overseeing their development and operation, cultivating new and existing financial and development partners, and working closely with home builders to ensure that their expectations and needs are met.
Robert has been a Partner with James R. Harris since 1992.
Robert graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Southern Methodist University with a Master of Business Administration.
Job Titles:
- Keeper of the Tennis Balls
Roger became a part of the JRHP team in 2016 when he was 3 years old, and the office wouldn't be the same without him. Most days when he's at the office, Roger can be found participating in client meetings, snoozing around the common areas, and looking handsome and professional in his personalized collar. While it may seem like Roger spends a lot of time sleeping on the job, he is a very good boy and an essential part of the JRHP team and our company culture.
When he's not at the office, Roger enjoys going for walks and playing outside, making new friends and spending time with his human, JRHP's Founding Partner, Jim Harris.
Roger would like to add that he will happily accept bellyrubs and treats from office visitors, clients, delivery people and pretty much everyone else.
Job Titles:
- Accounting Manager and Closing Coordinator
Tiffany Mobley offers over eighteen years of experience in accounting and finance. Having been with the company for over nine years, she is well versed on the intricacies it takes to help run a multifaceted company like JRHP.