What attracted you to SA Youth? I was a teacher for 18 years and, in that capacity, discovered that far too many kids go home to extremely difficult situations. I decided while teaching in Fort Worth, to start my own small, nonprofit boxing club and immediately fell in love with the collective efforts that individuals in the nonprofit realm put into helping kids in our community. When I decided to move my family to San Antonio, I immediately knew that working in the nonprofit sector would be my goal and sought out the best organization in San Antonio for kids. That was SA Youth, and I am fortunate to be part of such an incredible group of people.
What impact are you hoping to have on the organization and our mission? I grew up in a single-parent household in conditions that could easily be described as impoverished. Because my mom had to work two jobs to raise me and my two brothers, we had to rely on afterschool programs to have a safe, stable place to go when school was over. I credit organizations similar to SA Youth for allowing me to avoid becoming a statistic. With that said, my goal is to help our program grow so that we can reach as many students as possible with the hopes of showing them that there are paths that will allow them to escape their current situations and that there are people who care enough to help them in that journey.
Ice breaker (choose one) Favorite food? Favorite Memory? Favorite Movie? My favorite movie is The Big Lebowski. An interesting fact about me is that I am a former professional boxer and a three-time state gold glove champion.
Favorite Charity to give to and why? Both my mother and grandmother died of cancer so my favorite charity is the Cancer Research Institute.