Our Team

Ryan Derrick

Partner

As Construction Manager, Ryan is responsible for overseeing all construction-related activities. In this role, Ryan is responsible for pre-construction pricing, budget optimization, day-to-day management of capital improvement projects, and the overall execution of the firm’s value enhancing initiatives.

Prior to joining Colony, Ryan was a project manager and oversaw the Charlotte region for a leading institutional general contractor. In addition to the Charlotte region, Ryan also completed many other projects across the US. Ryan is a graduate of North Carolina State University where he majored in Civil Engineering and Business and brings over 15 years of experience in the construction industry. Ryan serves on the Trustee’s and Building comittees at Thrift Methodist Church and enjoys coaching soccer and spending time outdoors with his family. Ryan holds his General Contractor’s License in NC and SC.

Drew Smith joined Colony Commercial in 2021 as a Construction Manager, where he oversees the execution of projects from design through construction. Drew is responsible for preconstruction activities, including design and value engineering reviews, as well as the firm’s day-to-day management of clients’ capital improvement projects.

Before joining Colony Commercial, Drew worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for 12 years in three different districts, which included Savannah, Germany and New York City. Drew has a broad range of experience managing a multitude of military, marine, ground-up construction and renovation/adaptive reuse projects. In addition to managing construction, Drew ran the Army Corps Value Engineering Program for several years.

Drew graduated from North Carolina State University with a BS in Civil Engineering and later earned a Master of Building Construction from Auburn University. Additionally, Drew is a licensed Professional Engineer in North Carolina and Georgia.

Brick Bryant

Sam LoDebole, PE

Senior Project Manager

Before joining Colony Commercial, Sam worked for a Civil Engineering firm in Charlotte, NC for 3 years where he assisted on multifamily, office, retail, and mixed-use projects all around the city. Prior to working as a Civil Engineer, Sam worked for a Structural Engineering firm in Raleigh, NC doing residential structural design and inspections.

As a Construction Manager, Sam’s main focus is on multifamily construction while also assisting in Colony Commercial’s adaptive reuse projects. Sam is involved in the early stages of design where he assists with design optimization and constructability, and then handles the day-to-day management of the multifamily projects.

Sam graduated from North Carolina State University with a BS in Civil Engineering and is a licensed engineer in North Carolina.

Amber Simpson

Project Manager

As a Construction Manager, Lauren’s primary focus is on multifamily construction while also assisting in the management of Colony Commercial’s upfit projects. Lauren's early involvement is concentrated on design coordination and efficiency review. Her day-to-day participation for active projects includes management of financials, schedule, and personnel coordination. Her client-focused efforts remain consistent through construction completion and project turnover.

Before joining Colony Commercial, Lauren worked as a Construction Administration Manager for a Commercial Architect in Charlotte, NC. Her primary roles were to enforce the Contract Documents and act as a liaison between the General Contractor, Ownership, and the Architecture teams. Her main focus was Multifamily and Senior Living projects across the Southeast.

Lauren graduated from Virginia Tech with a BS in Civil Engineering and a focus in Construction Management.

Lauren Shirley

Drew Smith, PE

Brick has primary leadership over all aspects of the execution of Abacus Capital’s investment activities. In this capacity, his responsibilities include overall investment strategy formation, acquisition execution, transaction structuring, business plan implementation, ongoing asset oversight and portfolio management. In addition, Brick leads the firm’s capital raising and investor relations initiatives.

Brick’s expertise in the spatial markets complements the firm’s differentiated perspective on the real estate capital markets to provide clients with a comprehensive approach to managing risk and driving outperformance in the firm’s investment activities.

Brick graduated from UNC and as a licensed Broker-in-Charge leads the brokerage efforts of Abacus’ sister company. Brick is also very active in the local community having coached for 10+ years at Myers Park Trinity Little League and as well as currently serving as the Chairman of the Parents Council at First Presbyterian Church.

Partner

Elizabeth Conrad

Controller

Elizabeth joined Abacus Capital as an Office Coordinator, where she supports both marketing initiatives and day-to-day office operations. She is responsible for developing and executing social media and digital content strategies, as well as creating marketing materials that drive engagement and increase brand awareness, while also assisting with administrative support to ensure the office runs smoothly and the team executes synergistically. Elizabeth collaborates across teams to support campaigns, communications, and overall business efforts.

Prior to joining Abacus, Elizabeth worked as a Digital Specialist at High Point University, where she managed social media, created marketing content, and supported large-scale events and campaigns. She brings a strong background in content creation, strategy, and audience engagement.

Office Coordinator

Amber is responsible for all aspects of the financial management of the firm. In this capacity, she has primary leadership over property and corporate accounting, cash management and investor reporting.

Amber previously owned and operated a retail franchise for 10 years and was a Vice President at Banc of America Securities where she led a trading and sales management reporting team.

Amber graduated from the University of Dayton. She has served as Treasurer for a Parent- Teacher Organization and a local Girl Scout troop and also coached recreational soccer for 5 years.