Joey Sanchez
Cup of JoeY
Redemptive For-Profit Spring 2025 Cohort

Joey Sanchez is a connector. As Founder of Cup of Joey, his mission is to create connections to a more fulfilling future. Cup of Joey is a weekly coffee happy hour for innovative ideas. He delivers program activations that help you explore your purpose in life and how to connect that to the greater community. Joey’s previous roles include senior Director of Ecosystems at the Ion Houston; Director of Corporate Engagement at Houston Exponential; Director of Sales at Greater Houston Partnership; and AR Manager with NOV. Joey holds a BBA and MBA in Business Administration and Management from Jacksonville University.

Jim Herrington
The Leader’s Journey

Jim Herrington has been in the business of leadership development for over 36 years. Since 1989, he has coached leaders and guided organizations through personal and organizational transformation. He has worked with hundreds of mission-driven organizations across diverse contexts, helping them navigate change and deepen their impact.

Jim regularly speaks at conferences on topics such as spiritual formation, adaptive leadership, emotional maturity, family systems, and missional theology. He is a graduate of the University of Arkansas, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Houston Graduate School of Theology, where he earned a Doctor of Ministry in spiritual formation and spiritual direction.

He is the co-author of three books: Leading Congregational Change: A Practical Guide to the Transformational Journey, The Leader’s Journey: Accepting the Call to Personal and Congregational Transformation, and Learning Change: Congregational Transformation Fueled by Personal Renewal.

‍Jim lives in Houston and has been married to his best friend, Betty, for 52 years. Together, they enjoy life with their five children and six grandchildren.

Carson Schultz
Chief of Staff, Refined Technologies (RTI)
Redemptive Business Lab Mentor, 2023

 Carson Schultz serves as the Chief of Staff at Refined Technologies (RTI), a privately-owned industrial services company dedicated to serving the global Oil & Gas industry with unparalleled excellence.  Carson’s role helps drive organizational accountability, push strategic initiatives and assists in communication across the organization. He spends significant time helping drive priorities for the company, working with the Advisory Board, and coordinating cross-functional projects with the Executive Team.  RTI is driven by a profound purpose to serve clients with excellence while seeking to operate as a redemptive business. Carson is passionate about RTI’s company culture, which is rooted in its unique mission statement: Honor God Always, Help People Develop, Pursue Excellence, and Earn a Profit.

Prior to his time at RTI, Carson served as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff at Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star for 5 years, and prior to that as the Executive Pastor at Ecclesia Houston for 6 years.

 Carson and his wife, Hilary (a pre-school teacher) just celebrated 20 years of marriage and are raising two amazing teenagers, Cooper (15) and Annie Austen (13). They live in the Heights and are deeply invested in their neighborhood, and their local public schools.    

Amanda Castro
Founder and Executive Director, Community Preschools
Redemptive Non-Profit Labs 2023

Amanda Castro, M.S., CPM, is the founder and executive director of Community Preschools, a network of high-quality early childhood centers dedicated exclusively to serving underserved families. Her schools are located in child care deserts, where access to early education is limited or nonexistent. Community Preschools serves only families who would otherwise be unable to afford high-quality care—ensuring that every child, regardless of background, receives a strong foundation for lifelong learning.

Amanda leads all day-to-day operations and teacher development programming across campuses. She is an expert in early childhood education policy and administration, known for implementing data-driven systems that improve student outcomes through strategic coaching, mentoring, college partnerships, and formative assessments.

Under her leadership, Community Preschools has achieved international accreditation through Cognia, a distinction held by few early education centers. Her schools have also earned the highest possible certification ratings from the state, reflecting Amanda’s unwavering commitment to equity, quality, and innovation in early learning.

Amanda was a certified professional midwife and holds a Master of Science from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Her research background includes small molecule synthesis for cancer treatment, stem cell and viral research. While in graduate school, Amanda was chosen to represent the United States at the Conference of Nobel Laureates in Lindau, Germany, where she connected with leading scientists and emerging researchers from around the world. She earned her Bachelor of Science from Stephen F. Austin State University, with a minor in biology.

Amanda’s passion for education is deeply personal. Raised on a longhorn ranch, she grew up exploring the natural world—an early spark that led her to spend summers in Mexico learning Spanish and immersing herself in Mexican culture. Today, as a scientist, mother, and educator, she continues to champion access, discovery, and excellence for every child in her care.

Jaciel Castro
Co-Founder and Operator, Community Preschools
Redemptive Non-Profit Labs 2023

Jaciel Castro holds a Master of Finance in Real Estate Development and Investments from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is a graduate of The University of Houston-Downtown, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Structural Engineering Technology and Design (2011) and a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Organizational Development (2014) from Texas A&M. He is also an Engineer in Training through the Texas Board of Professional Engineers.

Jaciel spent six years working at the largest charter school in the country overseeing state-wide projects such as community development, enrollment, recruitment, change management and real estate. In his role, Jaciel analyzed the market for properties to plant schools, analyzed real estate opportunities, conducted market studies and managed enrollment to ensure children from educationally underserved communities had access to high quality programs.

Over the past 4 years. Jaciel has worked tirelessly to bring to life a new educational model which is creating the administrative standards for early childhood education in Texas. During his time in government, he learned about the billions of dollars in educational and social funding that goes unspent every year due to a lack of systems that connect families to funding. During the pandemic, Jaciel and Amanda grew an in-home daycare program from 12 children to over 250 which attained the highest accreditation in Texas and has been a leader in developing the administrative framework for the professionalization of the early childhood sector. Over the past 3 years, Jaciel has consulted and opened numerous childcare centers and helped programs expand to be able to connect both organizations and families to already available public school and childcare funding.

Jaciel and his wife Amanda are the founders of Community Preschools, a network of early childhood programs creating administrative capacity for other childcare centers in Texas. They currently operate 3 high quality childcare centers in the Houston area, serving over 200 children from diverse communities.

Jaciel recently celebrated his twelfth wedding anniversary with his wife Amanda and have five children: Jonathan, Gemma, Ezekiel, Heidi and Salome.

Kristen Philips
Chief of Staff, Golden Section Ventures
H-Town Fellows Class of 2025

Kristen Phillips is the Chief of Staff/Chief Executor at Golden Section, a venture capital fund, credit fund, and software development firm focused on enterprise software. Kristen’s role as Chief Executor, is responsible for execution of strategy, special projects, finance, operations, HR, services sales and accounting, and the benchmarking of performance against plan.

Kristen originally joined the firm in 2021 to build and launch Golden Section Studios, an early stage venture platform within the Golden Section umbrella. Prior to her role at Golden Section, Kristen joined The Cannon, a co-working entrepreneurial ecosystem, as an investment analyst for Cannon Ventures, a syndication model funding program for early-stage companies. Kristen graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in Management, minor in Economics, and a certification in entrepreneurial leadership. While at Texas A&M, Kristen was heavily involved in McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship and lead the on-campus incubator Startup Aggieland.

Kristen has been an advocate for entrepreneurship throughout her life. She attends and leads a small group at Seven Mile Road, a church community in Houston, Texas. Kristen loves learning, cooking, fishing, hunting, and is an advocate for outdoor activities.

 Tommy Garcia-Prats

 Tommy is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Small Places, a nonprofit that uses high impact urban farms in under-resourced neighborhoods to provide and foster the tools to cultivate health.  Since 2014, their farm, Finca Tres Robles (Spanish for 3 Oaks Farm), has worked to prioritize their immediate East End community striving to be a resource for more than just fresh produce by also hosting hands-on classes, field trips for all ages and community gatherings. After spending 3 years relocating, Finca Tres Robles, recently reopened their farm on a 1.5-acre property just east of downtown Houston thanks to a 40-year partnership with Harris County, the first agreement of it's kind.

Tommy draws on almost fifteen years' worth of hands-on experience in farming and farm management from his work on farms across the hemisphere. He is also an active member of the East End community serving on the Council, and eventually as President, of the 2nd Ward Super Neighborhood Council and was honored at Discovery Green in 2020 as one of Houston’s “Unsung Heroes" for the farm's response to the pandemic.  A native Houstonian, he is motivated by sharing his knowledge and experience in agriculture with his fellow Houstonians and is always looking to expand his edges and those of his community through agriculture.