With nearly two decades of experience as an interior designer and project manager, Elena M. Cutshall weaves design strategy into a comprehensive framework of client relations, change management, workplace strategy and branded environments. Elena manages projects in our housing/hospitality and corporate/commercial markets, which allows her to share her expertise with design teams across the sectors.
Elena has demonstrated strong leadership skills throughout her career; she easily connects to people and has a particular talent for building and motivating strong teams. Her breadth of workplace experience is national in scope and ranges from corporate headquarters to tech start-up spaces and from asset repositioning to immersive branded environments. Elena’s residential projects include multifamily developments and master planned communities. All of her projects benefit from her robust, collaborative style.
Elena began her career in Austin, TX with the transformation of an 80,000-square-foot warehouse into a multinational publishing office, designing a fully integrated workplace and branded environment before this became industry standard. She then honed these skills in Florida, where she mastered the art of client services while designing and managing projects for several regional and national real estate investment trusts. Working on diverse projects ranging from tenant improvement to building repositioning, Elena acted as a regional designer for several national corporations including MetLife, PODS and Education Management Corporation.
Her expertise in development includes multifamily residential, both vertical and horizontal construction, planned unit developments, master planning communities and public improvement districts. Elena is adept at managing interactions with municipal and regional permitting entities and has experience navigating everything from bond issuance to cost reimbursement agreements.
Elena also enjoys volunteering her time to professional development organizations. She has served on the board of the NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association Tampa Bay Chapter, where she became a regional leader. Elena founded the Jacksonville Bergstrom Council, a corporate real estate networking group for University of Florida alumni. In 2008, Real Estate Florida Magazine recognized Elena as one of their 30 Under 30 recipients. Elena has been active in CREW since 2012 and currently serves as the Executive Board Secretary and Board Liaison for Programs.
Elena is a LEED accredited professional registered and licensed to practice interior design in Texas and Florida. She received a Bachelor of Design in Interior Design from the University of Florida College of Architecture.