Our Team
Don Kendall
President / Principal
Email: dkendall@dmgnashville.com
Phone: (615) 227-5863
Don founded Development Management Group in October of 2006 with a vision of establishing long and successful partnerships with growth-oriented real estate developers and retailers. By developing a team of uniquely qualified professionals that provide experienced, consistent project management and the ability to represent our clients from conception to turnover, that vision has quickly become a reality. Don brings to DMG an accomplished background of nearly 35 years in the real estate development and civil engineering consulting fields and oversees all phases of project management for our clients.
Prior to founding DMG, Don served as Director of Development Services for Newton Oldacre McDonald, one of the region’s largest and most successful Commercial Real Estate Development firms, where he first established the company's in-house Development Services operation in 2000 assisting Newton Oldacre McDonald to realize unprecedented growth in the organization.
Prior to his association with Newton Oldacre McDonald, Don held the position of Project Manager for Residential and Commercial Engineering Design Projects and Director of Technical Services at Littlejohn Engineering Associates in Nashville, Tennessee and held a distinction as a company stockholder. Don attended Nashville State Technical Institute.
Ken Knuckles
Vice President / Principal
Email: kknuckles@dmgnashville.com
Phone: (615) 227-5863
Ken joined Development Management Group in January of 2007 and brings nearly 40 years of project management experience from both the civil engineering and real estate developer's perspective. He is responsible for managing the development process for DMG's commercial and office clients. His duties include design of conceptual site plans, coordination and review of ALTA Surveys, geotechnical and environmental investigations as part of the due diligence process, management of civil and architectural design process with outside consultants and working directly with municipalities relating to plan review and approval process.
Before joining DMG, Ken worked for four years with Newton Oldacre McDonald as a Sr. Development Manager overseeing Build-To-Suit projects throughout the eastern United States for various retail and restaurant tenants. Prior to that Ken worked in the civil engineering field for more than 20 years. The last 13 years he served as Director of Commercial Site Development for Stantec Consulting where he managed development programs for national retail and restaurant clients.
David Abbey, PE
Senior Development Project Manager / Principal
Email: dabbey@dmgnashville.com
Phone: (615) 227-5863
David joined Development Management Group in October of 2007 now having more than 23 years of civil engineering design and project management experience. He is responsible for managing the development process for various commercial, residential and office clients. His duties include conceptual site planning, project scheduling, feasibility/site investigations, management of outside consultants during the design process and working directly with local municipalities to secure project approvals and permits.
David was most recently employed by Civil Resource Consultants, LLC and was primarily responsible for managing the operation of their Nashville, TN office. Prior to that he worked as a civil engineer for CESP, Inc., Littlejohn Engineering Associates, Inc. and GRW, Inc. David is a graduate of Freed Hardeman University and Tennessee Tech and has been a registered civil engineer since 2001.
Gary Emerson
Development Project Manager / Principal
Email: gemerson@dmgnashville.com
Phone: (615) 227-5863
Gary joined Development Management Group in June of 2013 bringing more than 35 years of civil engineering design and development experience. He is responsible for managing the development process for commercial and office clients. His duties include overseeing the development of engineering design development plans, design of conceptual site plans, coordination and review of ALTA surveys, geotechnical and environmental investigations as part of the due diligence process, feasibility and site investigations, management of outside consultants during the design process and working directly with municipalities during plan review.
Prior to joining DMG, Mr. Emerson was part of the Cad/Design management team at Littlejohn Engineering Associates where he was responsible for the development and design of CAD standards for the firm. Mr. Emerson has provided ADA remediation services for major healthcare companies across the United States. Mr. Emerson is a graduate of Murray State University with a degree in Civil Engineering Technology.
Michael H. Gilbert, AIA-NCARB, LEED AP BD+C
Development Project Manager
Email: mgilbert@dmgnashville.com
Phone: (615) 227-5863
Mike joined DMG in February of 2015 and brings a wealth of project management experience from the perspective of Real Estate Development, Architecture, and Construction, with over 16 years in Real Estate Development, and over 30 years of Architecture, Project & Construction Management, most recently as Director of Real Estate & Development for a national dialysis provider, and as Senior Project Director for a national health care REIT overseeing all aspects of self-development projects.
Mike is responsible for managing complete turnkey developments, including acquisition due diligence, zoning & entitlements, project management, project feasibility, design team coordination, capital budgeting, and development scheduling.
Mike graduated from Auburn University with Bachelor of Science in both Architecture and Building Sciences, is a licensed architect in multiple states, with expertise in Sustainable Design (LEED) & Building Information Modeling (BIM).
DAKOTA O’BRYANT, PE
Design Engineer
Email: dobryant@dmgnashville.com
Phone: (615) 227-5863
Dakota joined Development Management Group in April of 2021 bringing 3 years of civil engineering design experience. His responsibilities include design of conceptual site plans, development of engineering design plans, coordinating with professional and support staff, conducting project feasibility investigations, development of project development schedules and coordinating with municipalities and various utility providers during the plan review and permitting process.
Prior to joining DMG, Dakota was part of the Transportation and Site Development team at Calvert Spradling Engineers, Inc. where he was employed as a Design Engineer. Dakota received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering degree from Mississippi State University in 2019. Dakota successfully passed the Principles and Practices of Engineering Exam in May 2022 and received his PE Licensure in May 2023.
Mark Ano
Design Engineer
Email: mano@dmgnashville.com
Phone: (615) 227-5863
Mark joined Development Management Group in January of 2021 as a Design Engineer and brings nearly ten years of civil engineering design experience. He is responsible for the preparation of preliminary site plans, performing feasibility investigations, and the production of complete civil design plans and supporting materials relating to the analysis of storm and sanitary sewer systems. Mark also supports the project team with permitting tasks that include direct coordination with the governing jurisdictions to facilitate plan submittals and follow-up to obtain project approvals.
Mark was previously employed by Collier Engineering Co, Inc., where he was responsible for the design of new and retrofitted public infrastructure projects. Prior to that he worked in Illinois as a stormwater engineer for Hey and Associates, LLC. Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently working towards receiving his PE licensure.
Courtney Lynch
Project Coordinator
Email: clynch@dmgnashville.com
Phone: (615) 227-5863
Courtney joined Development Management Group as a Project Coordinator in June of 2018 and brings 2 years of experience in the design and commercial development fields. Courtney’s responsibilities include working with municipalities and utility providers as part of preparing feasibility investigations and plan submissions relating to permitting efforts; coordination with land surveyors, geotechnical and environmental consultants to request service proposals; schedule and release of due diligence work and provide oversight for the completion of the work; preparation of project schedules.
Prior to joining DMG, Courtney worked as a Project Coordinator for Design & Engineering.
Griffin Kendall
Assistant Project Manager
Email: gkendall@dmgnashville.com
Phone: (615) 227-5863
Griffin joined Development Management Group in July 2022 and is employed as an Assistant Project Manager. While relatively new to the real estate development industry Griffin has acquired valuable experience, knowledge, and growth not only as part of his past two years of employment, but also thru serving an internship at DMG the past two summers. Griffin’s responsibilities include assisting all Project Managers with day-to-day tasks associated with managing a variety or development projects that include the preparation of project schedules, feasibility investigations, coordination with various outside consultants to obtain geotechnical and environmental reports, ALTA Surveys, etc. He also assists with the preparation and management of project and construction budgets. and provides construction observation on several of DMG’s larger retail projects.
Prior to joining DMG, Griffin served four years in the United States Marine Corps as an infantryman. During Griffin’s time in the Marines he and his platoon were deployed to Okinawa where they acted as a stand-in-force for Japan. Griffin served as squad leader and oversaw plans for assigned missions, developed training plans, and was responsible for the wellbeing of the Marines assigned to his platoon. Griffin was honorably discharged from the Marines in July 2022.
April Kendall
Office Manager
Email: akendall@dmgnashville.com
Phone: (615) 227-5863
April joined Development Management Group in October 2006 and serves as office manager and executive assistant. She is responsible for the day to day oversight of administrative tasks and staff and provides support to our project managers. April is also involved in the company’s accounting and billing processes. Prior to joining DMG, April worked in the retail and sales industries.