MEET OUR TEXAS LEADERSHIP TEAM
James Miller
Region President, EHT
James brings over 30 years of experience within the homebuilding and real estate industries to his position as Partner and Regional President of Empire Texas Homebuilding Division. Prior to joining Empire Communities, James served as the Region President at McGuyers Homebuilders, Inc. (MHI) where he managed several departments and aspects of the residential construction industry. Along with Wade Bradow, James launched the Empire U.S. Homebuilding Division and was instrumental in the acquisition of Centerra Homes in 2018. Since, Empire has expanded its footprint in three of Texas’ major homebuilding markets. James is a member of the Board of Directors for HomeAid Houston and for Stratford/Westside Young Life. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Architectural Engineering.
Wade Bradow
Regional Executive Vice President, EHT
As Partner and Regional Executive Vice President of the Empire Texas Homebuilding Division, Wade brings nearly 30 years of experience within the homebuilding and real estate industries to the team. Previously, he served as the Division President of Land Acquisitions at McGuyers Homebuilders, Inc. (MHI). He’s been responsible for long-term strategic planning, investment decision evaluations, and securing multiple financing products for different development projects. Wade launched the Empire U.S. Homebuilding Division alongside James Miller in 2016, and has been instrumental to Empire’s expansion into Houston, Austin and San Antonio. Wade is a graduate of Texas Lutheran College in Seguin, Texas with a B.A. in Business
Ben Corona
VP, Finance and Accounting, EHT
As Regional Controller, Ben is responsible for driving growth and profitability in the Texas region. He is directly involved in all financial-related functions including budgeting, financial reporting and analyses, and banking and lending relationships. He brings to the team over 15 years of financial and accounting experience from a variety of industries. In his previous role, he led an accounting team of 12 for a newly created $200M business unit and was responsible for 12 manufacturing operations across 5 states. After receiving his Bachelor’s degree in International Business from Rollins College, Ben completed his MBA with concentrations in finance and strategy from Southern Methodist University, Cox School of Business. Ben is now a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
Corinne Branch
Senior Manager, Human Capital
As Senior Manager of Human Capital, Corinne provides advice, coaching and support to leaders and employees alike, while ensuring compliance with federal and state employment laws. She is responsible for ensuring that Human Capital strategic initiatives, programs and processes are implemented within the divisions. Corinne brings 10+ years of experience in Human Resources with a demonstrated history of success in the real estate industry, and is a Senior Certified Professional through the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). Previously, she held the role of Regional Human Resources Manager at Lennar Corporation.
Jenni Leccese
Regional Director, Marketing
Jenni’s primary responsibility is to oversee the Texas region as Regional Marketing Director. She joined Empire with 16 years of experience at David Weekley, overseeing creative services, and handling marketing strategy and implementation as Marketing Director and later, Creative Services Manager. Previously, she held the role of Field Marketing Manager where she oversaw 22 markets across the U.S., as well as budget development, ROI and KPI analyses, best practice sharing, marketing strategy and coaching of the field marketing team. She graduated from the University of Houston Downtown with a B.B.A. in Marketing.
Vikki Daniel
Vice President, Purchasing
As the Vice President of Purchasing, Vikki has been instrumental to Empire’s expansion into Austin and San Antonio. Previously, she worked at Perry Homes as the Director of Purchasing for all Texas markets. She brings over 20 years of experience in the homebuilding industry to the team, and graduated with a BFA in English from Sam Houston State University.
C.A. Elder
Vice President, Land Acquisitions
As Vice President of Land Acquisitions, C.A. manages the acquisitions of lot and land assets for the Texas region. He is responsible for hiring, managing and developing divisional land professionals as he leads the acquisitions of fully finished developed lots and undeveloped land. With a career spanning over 40 years in the homebuilding, land development and sales industry, C.A. has focused on the acquisition, due diligence, financing, marketing and development of residential use properties. He has worked on numerous family investments and partnerships, and has managed the land operations for Wilshire Homes in Austin, San Antonio and Houston.
Terry Shuffler
Division President, Austin
Terry brings over 30 years of experience in the homebuilding industry to his role of Division President in Central Texas at Empire Communities. He has an intimate knowledge of all facets of the business, having led the start-up of Trendmaker Homes’ Austin division in one of his previous positions. Terry has remained active in the industry as a prior GHBA Board Member and has spent numerous years supporting both Houston and Austin HomeAid. He graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Tracy Brown
Division President, Houston
Tracy brings over 20 years of experience in the residential construction industry to his role as the Houston Division President at Empire Communities. Prior to joining the Empire team, Tracy served as the Dallas Division President at David Weekley Homes where he managed the division’s strategic planning and operations including construction, sales, marketing, project management, and community development. He also worked as a Project Manager in Houston for David Weekley and Division Manager of Houston for Highland Homes. Tracy’s established experience and expertise has helped Empire expand its footprint within the Houston market.
Ruben Gutierrez
Division President, San Antonio
Ruben has over 18 years of homebuilding operations and logistics experience. Ruben joins Empire Communities from his most recent position at Perry Homes where he successfully built relationships and negotiated strategic partnerships with a vast network of trade partners and vendors. He was able to capitalize on operational efficiencies and exceed production demands in a challenging market. Ruben earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance degree from the University of Texas Pan American.
Jarves Warren
Vice President, Sales, Central Texas
Jarves has 20 years of sales and leadership experience, and has spent the past 15 years in New Home Sales. For the past two years, he has worked at Empire Communities as the VP of Sales for Central Texas. Prior to his role at Empire, Jarves worked as a Sales Consultant at Centerra Homes and later, as an Area Sales Manager at M/I Homes, Inc. He graduated with a BS in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.
Joelle Hogg
Sales Manager, Austin
Joelle is Empire’s Sales Manager in Austin, Texas. She is a licensed realtor, and has spent several years in new home sales management. Throughout her career, she has managed sales teams in both Traditional and Active Adult markets, and has worked as an onsite salesperson for various home builders. Joelle is an Austin native, and is proud to have worked in the region for over 20 years.
Jamie Patterson
Sales Manager, Houston
With a total of 20 years in New Sales and Construction, Jamie has been a welcomed addition to the Empire team as Sales Manager in Houston, Texas. After beginning her career at David Weekly Homes, Jamie began working at Highland Home and later transitioned to McGuyer Homebuilders, Inc. (MHI) where she oversaw all marketing communications and advertising initiatives as Director of Marketing. She attended the University of Southern Indiana where she obtained a degree in Marketing.
Alyssa Siers
Senior Marketing Manager, Central Texas
As Senior Marketing Manager, Alyssa is responsible for overseeing the marketing efforts across Central Texas. She is a seasoned marketing professional, bringing over 10 years of direct real estate marketing experience to her role. Prior to joining Empire, Alyssa oversaw the marketing strategy, implementation, and creative services as Marketing Director for The Signorelli Company located in The Woodlands, Texas, with a focus on both residential and commercial real estate. She also held the role of Marketing Manager at Newland Communities in Austin where she managed the marketing efforts for two master-planned communities. She attended the Texas State University and graduated with a B.B.A. in Marketing.
Jackie Escalante
Marketing Specialist, Houston
Jackie oversees the marketing strategy and execution for the Houston division. Jackie graduated from the Art Institute of Houston with a Bachelors degree of Fine Arts in Interior Design and has invested the last several years providing marketing and administrative support for several organizations.
After working with architecture, engineering, and design firms throughout Texas, Jackie started her career with Empire in 2021 as the Marketing Coordinator for EHT. She was able to take several experiences from her previous positions to acclimate to the home building industry and enjoys picking the brains of her teammates and members of other departments. Jackie continues to evolve her marketing expertise and in August of 2022 was promoted to the Houston Division Marketing Specialist.
Karla Waskiewicz
Purchasing Manager
Karla brings 9 years of experience in the homebuilding industry to her role of Purchasing Manager at Empire Communities. Prior to joining the team, she served as Director of New Home Starts, Purchasing Manager and Estimating Analyst at Perry Homes where she was responsible for managing a team of 15+ as well as over $400 million of vendor accounts, starting over 3,000 homes annually, and overseeing the entry into two new markets. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in Economics.