Our Team

Oread’s team is comprised of acquisition, entitlement, development, and operational experts.

Jeff Handlin

*President*
Jeff Handlin founded Oread Capital & Development in 2011. Prior to founding Oread Capital & Development, Mr. Handlin served in executive roles at recognized national homebuilding and real estate development companies including: Founding Partner of Starwood Land Ventures; Officer and National Vice President for M.D.C. Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Richmond American Homes; and Vice President with Taylor Woodrow (currently known as Taylor Morrison).
At M.D.C. Holdings, Mr. Handlin managed all acquisitions company-wide, representing over 12,000 residential lots across the U.S. between 2009 and 2011, with acquisition costs over $600 Million. Also while at M.D.C., Mr. Handlin led the acquisition of SDC Homes, at the time the third-largest homebuilder in the Seattle market. Beginning in 2007, prior to his time at M.D.C., Mr. Handlin was a founding partner in Starwood Land Ventures, based in Bradenton, Florida. Mr. Handlin led all Florida acquisitions while at Starwood Land, representing over $100 Million in direct acquisitions, including the acquisition of substantially all the Florida assets of Tousa-Engle Homes from its bankruptcy estate. Upon receiving a J.D. from Duke University, and prior to his work as a land development and homebuilding executive, Mr. Handlin began his legal career at the law firm of Carlton Fields in Tampa, Florida, where he focused on real estate development, finance, and homeowners association law. Mr. Handlin graduated cum laude with a B.A. from the University of Kansas.
Mr. Handlin is a member of the ULI’s National Community Development Council and ULI’s Colorado Community Development Council. Mr. Handlin strongly supports education; he serves as an adjunct professor at the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver; and continues to serve on various boards at the University of Kansas.

Amber Sands

*Partner*
Amber Sands brings 13 years of experience to the Oread team. Amber’s experience in both the financial industry and residential development sector bring a unique perspective to our projects. Amber spent the first 5 years of her career structuring financing products for complex real estate transactions. For the past 5 years, she has focused on several facets of residential development.
Amber originally joined Oread in 2013, but transitioned to Newland Communities after the successful sale of two high profile assets in Colorado. Amber continued her role in development for the properties Newland acquired, but shortly after transitioned to managing all of Newland’s Colorado land dispositions and contract negotiations.

Mark Nickless

Partner

Mark Nickless has over 30 years of experience in mixed-use and residential development. Prior to joining Oread, Mark managed the overall vision and implementation for The Canyons community in Castle Pines, CO. Over his career, Mark has obtained entitlements on over 10,000 homes and 7,000,000 square feet of mixed-use development and has been responsible for over $60,000,000 in land sales.

Prior to The Canyons, Mark was a Project Director for a local homebuilder and the Development Manager at The Meadows while working for Castle Rock Development Company. He has a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado and is a registered Professional Engineer in Colorado. Mark serves on the Colorado and National Urban Land Institute Community Development Councils.

Chase Stillman

*Partner*
Chase brings expertise in financial cash flow projecting, market research, and GIS modeling. He received his undergraduate degree in Real Estate Finance with a specialty in Development at the University of Denver and was recognized with the Burns school of business’s Rising Star award.
Chase has experience in commercial construction and national production home building. He has worked as a land aquisitionist at Century Communities, identifying, projecting, and contracting development opportunities in the greater Denver metro area. He has also headed investment, management, and disposition of single family detached, student housing, and multifamily properties around the Denver MSA.
Chase works as a financial manager for FMSI, a private equity firm specializing in manufacturing, hospitality, and food production. He utilizes a data driven approach to company valuation and health analysis to better develop and produce metric based financial reporting and establish and cultivate long term business plans based on those reports.

Our Team

Jeff Handlin

Amber Sands

Mark Nickless

Chase Stillman

Todd Johnson