Our Team
Ben Ryan, President
Ben Ryan is President of Tourmaline Builders. He founded the company in 2011, and over the past decade has grown it into San Diego’s most highly acclaimed builder of custom homes. Under his direction, Tourmaline has earned a steady stream of honors and accolades, including multiple “best home” and “best builder” awards.
A former Navy SEAL officer, Ben has been profiled in the Philadelphia Inquirer and published in the Wall Street Journal. He is a licensed general contractor and real estate broker, and a past finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award.
Ben earned a BA in Biology from Yale University, where he captained the lightweight crew, and received an MBA from Harvard Business School. He resides in San Diego with his wife and four children.
Jake Hunter, Chief Operating Officer
Jake Hunter is Chief Operating Officer at Tourmaline Builders. He oversees day-to-day operations of the company, and has been instrumental in building the company into San Diego’s premier custom home builder.
Before joining Tourmaline, Jake began his career in real estate at Cassidy Turley, a commercial real estate services firm, in their Los Angeles office.
In 2017, he was named to the San Diego Daily Transcript’s “40 Under 40” list of top business professionals in San Diego under the age of 40.
He earned a BA in Political Science from Yale University, where he was a member of the varsity baseball team. He resides in Encinitas with his wife, daughter and two golden retrievers.
Cyndi Black, Project Coordinator
Cyndi works directly with clients and Tourmaline’s project managers to facilitate an enjoyable and efficient homebuilding process, coordinating finish details and design selections.
Cyndi previously served as Director of Marketing for FitDeck, Inc., a fitness company she co-founded. After eleven years in the fitness industry and a successful sale of the business, Cyndi joined Tourmaline.
Cyndi earned a BA in Russian Language from Yale University where she competed as a member of the varsity women’s swim team. She resides in San Diego with her husband and four sons.
Heather Ryan, Project Coordinator
Heather works closely with clients and Tourmaline’s project managers to ensure a smooth process and positive homebuilding experience, staying on top of key decision points and material orders.
Heather earned a BA in Biology from Yale University and a PhD in Biology from the University of California, San Diego.
Melissa Waters, Project Coordinator
Melissa navigates clients through the homebuilding proces, keeping them abreast of important decisions and ensuring the timely ordering of materials.
Melissa worked previously in education and most recently as Head of Growth for Triad Athletes, a specialty athletic training company. She earned her BA in Liberal Arts from University of San Diego. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and playing sports with her husband and two children.
Javier Luna, Project Manager
With nearly two decades of experience in custom home construction, Javier strives for excellence not only in quality and detail, but also in professionalism and commitment to the customer.
Sean Moran, Project Manager
With a meticulous attention to detail and comprehensive knowledge of construction, Sean ensures that each home is built to Tourmaline’s exceedingly high standards.
Originally from Washington, DC where he grew up in a family homebuilding company, Sean enjoys camping, hiking, and exploring the desert with his two sons in his spare time.
Jeff Nieboer, Project Manager
With over 20 years in custom homebuilding, Jeff brings extensive professional knowledge and trade skills coupled with a commanding focus on quality and craftsmanship to bear on each project.
In his free time, you can find Jeff surfing up and down the San Diego coast with his yellow lab, Charlie.
Charlie Nieboer, Chief Canine Officer
As CCO, Charlie is responsible for employee happiness. He also greets guests, inspects packages, cleans the kitchen, and protects the office from seagulls and vacuum cleaners.
Charlie spends most of his spare time surfing. You can catch Charlie on the waves here.
Jack Mann, Preconstruction Manager
In addition to fieldwork in project management, Jack is involved in estimating and project set-up activities, ensuring that Tourmaline projects are prepared for success from the start.
A Summa Cum Laude graduate of Arizona State University where he majored in Economics and minored in Statistics, Jack began his professional career in the actuarial department of Allstate Insurance.
Ty Dattaray, Accounting Manager
Ty oversees the company’s accounting activities and manages the company’s finances.
Ty previously worked at Cibus where he helped prepare the company for an IPO, and was a Staff Auditor at Brown Armstrong Accountancy Corporation.
Ty is a CPA. He is a graduate of UC Riverside and obtained a master’s degree in accounting from Cal State Fullerton.
Ty is also an accomplished and passionate woodworker with experience building high-end cabinetry and custom furniture, and enjoys teaching classes on woodworking.