About Us

Chris Jones, President

Chris founded Ameris Construction in 2005, and it grew over $20M in revenues by 2007 and continues to grow rapidly today. He brings over 27 years of construction experience as the “boots on the ground” for Ameris’ leadership team in every project. His experience spans multiple aspects of construction and business management including client relations, sales, and project management. He takes a hands-on approach to every project, and can be found on an Ameris job site on any given day.

David Lugo, Director of Construction

Dave’s in-depth skills in leadership, resource allocation, and coordination of people and assets have enabled him to consistently deliver his projects on time and on budget. He brings 40 years of construction industry experience to the table. As Director of Construction, Dave is responsible for managing the day to day site activities to the highest standard. All field staff reports directly to Dave, and he reports directly to Ameris’ COO in leading the company’s field operations.

E-mail: dlugo@amerisconstruction.com
Mobile: (602) 292-1046

Jake Girard, Project Manager

Jake is an experienced construction project manager with over 20 years of work on industrial, commercial, and logistics projects across the Southwest. He’s known for his steady leadership, practical problem-solving, and ability to keep projects running smoothly from start to finish. Jake takes pride in building strong relationships on every job site and keeping teams aligned around quality, safety, and schedule. His background includes everything from, Multi-family, Senior-Living, Hospitality, Fulfillment centers, and Healthcare builds to detailed Tenant Improvements.  On the weekends, pretty much all his free time for the near future is dedicated to either a club baseball tournament for his son or driving around the valley to a cheer competition for his daughter.

E-mail: jake@amerisconstruction.com
Mobile: (602) 677-2211

Pat Wharton, Administrative Manager

Pat brings a proven track record of successful administration and financial oversight in the construction world, while also recognizing the value of building relationships with Subcontractors, Vendors and Owners. She is organized, efficient, and able to manage both the fine details and the big-picture financials of each project. Her responsibilities include assisting the Project Manager and Project Coordinator in tasks related to the financial aspect of each project, and answering questions from coworkers or Subcontractors. Pat starts her day at 5:30 am, strength training at an outdoor Bootcamp, in order to keep up with her 7 grandchildren, visit her 93 year old mother-in-law, and various other activities.