Our Story

Our Mission.

SpringSpirit exists to provide pathways for youth to realize life opportunities through sports, education, and mentoring programs based on Christian principles.

Our Story

Melissa and Kenny Baldwin
Co-Founders and President

SpringSpirit was established in 2009 to offer underserved kids, at scale, the same life opportunities that President and Founder, Kenny Baldwin, received in life. Kenny grew up in a community that looks very similar to the one SpringSpirit serves today, believing that the best life could offer him-if he worked really hard--was perhaps to manage a fast food restaurant when he grew up. But he was lucky enough to have encouraging and loving parents, baseball, the local church, and loving mentors in his life who encouraged him in his studies and beyond. Through those relationships, he was challenged to pursue college and attended Rice University on a baseball scholarship. After a stint in the minor leagues, he was hired by Arthur Andersen, beginning what would become his successful consulting career. Kenny retired earlier than most to spend more time with his family, but knew that he still had a lot to give. Grateful for the grace and support he received in life, he and his wife decided to use his consulting skills and relationships to build an organization that would give other underserved kids the same sorts of preparation and life opportunities he received. Thus, SpringSpirit was born.

Our Team

Administration

Kenny Baldwin President/Founder	Rachel Owens (Chief Operating Officer)
Jeanne Grube (Controller)	Yesenia Merchan (Operations)
Brian Dennison Pitner Campus Director	Juan Ramirez Assistant Director at Pitner Campus
Ana Mendoza Campbell Campus Director	Marc Laney Senior Director of Development
Kakki Reasoner Development Manager	Stacy Dunn Accountant

Pitner Campus Team

Juan Ramirez Assistant Director a Pitner Campus	Katie Whalley Development Coordinator
Laura Smith Director of Education	Susan Hall Education Manager for Pitner Campus
Carin Thorn Education coordinator/Early Literacy	Connally Mooring Mentoring and Literacy Coordintor
Blanca Gallegos Whole Child Program	Kevin Witt Athletic Director
Gabriel Castillo Competative Baseball Coach	Michael Kidd Recreational Sports Coordinator/ Youth Ministry

Campbell Campus Team

Ana Mendoza Campbell Campus Director	Sergio Razo Recreational Sports Manager for Campbell Campus	Adrian Lucero Recreational Sports Coordinator
Elmer Villa Competitive Soccer Coordinator	Lizandro Salazar Competitive Soccer Coordinator	Said Perez Adult Ministry

Community Advisory/Ambassador Committee

Luis Rojas - CAAT President and SpringSpirit Board Member

Luis grew up in the Spring Branch area and attended Valley Oaks Elementary, Landrum Middle and Northbrook High. He spent the majority of his career in the banking industry before transitioning to the energy sector. He currently works as an Onboarding Specialist at Shell. Luis and his wife love Spring Branch and wanted to raise their two children in this area. As a family, they became heavily involved with SpringSpirit due to its mission and the positive impact it was having in the community. They have continued to volunteer with SpringSpirit even after needing to relocate to the Cypress area, and their children continue to go to school in SBISD and will graduate from Northbrook High School. Luis is dedicated to ensuring that his family continues to grow their roots in Spring Branch and make an impact on the community.

Rosalba Covarrubias - Vice President and Community Chair

(Rosy) I was born and raised in Mexico and came to this beautiful country in the year 2000. I am a full time mom very involved in my kids activities, I am a volunteer in their schools as well as in Spring Spirit. My whole family have been participating in SpringSpirit since 2014. I Have three kids, Kevin, Joscelyn and Paola. We started with CRL where I was a team mom and then the coach. Helping is something that I love and makes me feel good. I am pleased to see my community grow and excel. One of my goals is to see my children go to college, educate them as people of good and faith continue to support and guide them to achieve their goals and personally continue to grow as a person, If I could have a superpower it would be to fly , to be able to be on time in all my kid’s practices, games , school , CAT meetings and avoid Houston’s traffic stress ;)

Grecia Castro CAAT Member - Ministry

Grecia Castro My husband Diego Mendoza and I have 4 children Diego, 15 years old, Grecia, 13 years old, David, 8 years old, and Daniel, 5 years old, we also have a dog son that we adopt, Canelo 2 years old. My husband and I decided to emigrate to this country in 2013 for a better future for our children since our country does not have a good education for children with different disabilities, I have 3 children with hemiparesis, autism and Asperger's syndrome. I came to Spring Spirit that same year (2013)! I was looking to learn more about this country and socialize (I have always liked meeting people and learning new things) and this organization helped us a lot and welcomed us as family. I enrolled my children in the CRL league after my daughter Grecia became the first generation of Lady Toros, she learned to interact with more children starting to speak more, the coaches and SS staff made her feel welcomed and always included her in activities and practices, that helped her a lot with her disability. My son Diego was more inclined towards education, he went to classes after school, he was very supportive in reading classes and he waited every Friday to attend FNL. David and Daniel participate in Reading and soccer, David is now in swimming lessons and he is very excited to be part of it. Well, this is how we started and we got involved in this amazing organization. We volunteered to give back a little bit of all SS have contributed to our family.

Cristina Urbina (Cristy) - CATT MEMBER - Ministry Chair

Cristina Urbina (Cristy) My name is Maria Cristina I am originally from Montemorelos, Nuevo León Mexico (where the best orange is grown) 5 years ago I arrived in this country of opportunities, arriving with a suitcase full of dreams and hope for a better future. We are a family of 4, my husband Julio Gonzalez, my son Diego (13 years old), my daughter Ximena (7 years old). I really enjoy getting involved in my children's activities, volunteering at my children's schools, and Spring Spirit, that has become as a family for us. My children are involved in sports, education programs and FNLL. Also, I’m a the Team Mom in my daughter's Softball team. Always willing to help anytime I can. My goal is to learn to speak and write English, and for my children to go to college.

Stephanie Lizama - CAAT Member - Softball Chair

Stephanie Lizama She and her family have been a member of Spring Spirit since 2015. She is an active member in the community as well as the Spring Branch school district, where she serves as a member of the Campus Improvement Team for Edgewood Elementary. Stephanie has two children involved at Spring Spirit, Gavin, and Jude. She is married to Marlon Lizama who teaches a creative writing course for youth at the center. She was a volunteer softball coach for the Lady Toros and continues to work closely with them. She has set many goals for the future, but at this time she is focusing on health and fitness. Stephanie is from Louisiana where she attended Louisiana State University. She enjoys reading in her spare time as well as listening to music. She is from a small town in Louisiana and knows the importance of community. Stephanie is honored to be a part of this committee where she can help improve the needs of others.

Francisco Lopez - CAAT Member - Soccer Chair

Francisco Lopez I’m Francisco Lopez arrived from Mexico City at the age of 17 I was fortunate enough to graduate from HS. I waited 7 years after HS graduation to enrolled in college for various personal reasons, at that time I was already a father of my 3 children, but this only gave me the focus and the energy to do it. I graduated with the degree of a Bachelor of Accounting Cum Laude from the University of Houston-Downtown. I been part of spring spirit for the last 8 years. I had coach and volunteer in different capabilities at spring spirit and the community. My kids have played baseball, soccer, and attended several summer camps. I really want to see this community grow and become a beacon in this town. Diego, played baseball and currently he is in U15 competitive soccer program. Emma is more into education she participates in the statistics program. Sasha is only 8 and currently she will participate in the soccer program. All my kids really enjoy FNL and the summer programs.

Andy - CAAT Member - Education Chair

Andy began volunteering at Spring Spirit on his nephew, Raul’s T-ball team in 2018. Like the players he serves, he also grew up in the Spring Branch community. He has been coaching the same core group of boys, through CRL, who are now on the competitive 9U Toros team. He is currently a bilingual educator for Spring Branch ISD and serves on campus and district level teams. Andy graduated from Texas A&M University in 2017 where he was a proud member of the Corps of Cadets. Andy’s interests include playing basketball, watching sports, and spending time with his family. Now as a member of the CAAT, he hopes to continue making a difference in the community and help Spring Spirit reach more families.

Wayne Weathersby CAAT Member - Baseball Chair

Wayne Weathersby is the oldest of three siblings, all born and raised in Houston, Texas. He graduated from Spring Woods high school in 2007, where he met his wife. They both have raised two wonderful boys, which opened the doors for coaching. He Started volunteering for Spring Spirit in 2017, when his son’s team needed a coach in the SpringSpirit Cal Ripkin league. From there, he transitioned to coaching a Toros team in 2019 and coaches that team and his son currently. He works for H-E-B at the Windfern Distribution Center, as a Warehouse Trainer for new hires. His Goals are to become an inspiring and great team leader, as well as a role model for others and to grow and become the best version of myself for my children. His hobbies include coaching baseball, staying athletic at Spring spirit, love to Draw & Paint when I have free time

Jesus Garza

My name is Jesus Garza. I was born in Mexico and raised in San Antonio, Texas. I've been married for 15 years and have a family of 8. I enjoy reading, and studying God's word and living 15 years for Jesus. I also enjoy family time, church, coaching softball, fishing, watching baseball and softball, serving others, carpentry, drag racing, horseback riding, and playing acoustic guitar.

Susana

Hello, my name is Susana, but everyone knows me as Susy. My family and I have been part of SpringSpirit for about 8 years. I have 3 daughters and all 3 have played softball for both LadyToros and CRL. My husband, Erick, has been coaching at SpringSpirit for about 5 years, and I would help being the team mom. We are not just at SpringSpirit for the sports. We also participate in the educational and ministry side of SpringSpirit, and we enjoy it.

Patricia

Hi I'm Patricia. I've been a member here for years, I have two children that play baseball and softball. My son plays with the Toros, and my daughter plays with the LadyToros here at SpringSpirit. I love to give back to the community.

Our Board

Carlos Abello	Chris Ferazzi	Bob Kurtz	Mary Tere Perusquia
Kenny Baldwin	Ed Fikse	Dan Lang	Tony Pilegge
Melissa Baldwin	Terrence Gee	Mark Lange	John Prather
Lance Berkman	Mike Gilbert	David Light	Paul Primavera
Ryan Bishop	Jay Graham	Jason Martinez	Haley Reiser
Keith Booke	Mark Hamilton	Baker McAdams	Luis Rojas
David Buck	Bill Herman	Mark McAdams	Reid Ryan
Steve Buckley	Doug Hodo	Brooks McGee	Steve Schwarzbach
Linda Castaneda	Howard House	Stephen McNair	Steve Scott
David Cecil	Eric Hudson	Philip McRae	Aimee Snoots
Gus Comiskey	Will Huthnance	John Meredith	Laura Sorrell
Jeff Dietert	Sean Keenan	Jeff Miers	Steve Stephens
Bill Dore	Steve Kim	David Milich	G Strake
Gary Edwards *(In memoriam)	Duncan Klussman	David Miller	Drew Taggert
Cristina Feder	Peggy Kostial	Michelle Mouton	Leslie Teel

Debbie Tengler

Ken Theut

Brian Thompson

Beth Tilney

Marlen Trujillo

Jesse Tutor

Luke Vammen

Trey Vick

Our Founding Partners

The Stoller Foundation strives to be HIS witness “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Our Core Values

Teamwork: We rely on the talent and experience of every member of our staff to meet our mission goals. We will work as one team to achieve our common and individual goals. We will communicate openly, share ideas and support each other.

Respect for the Individual: We strive to create a workplace where employees learn from others and each person’s unique skills, gifts and experience are recognized. We will demonstrate grace, compassion and patience with colleagues, volunteers and participants.

Integrity: We believe that trust is built on honesty and ensuring that our behaviors match our words. We will act ethically, legally and according to our Christian principles in all situations.

Focus on the Family and Community: We are committed to improving the lives of the families and youth of Spring Branch. We will serve them willingly and with humility. We will listen to the community in order to understand the specific ways in which we can help and we will deliver quality programming.

Perseverance: We will be consistent and dedicated in our mission. We will serve with a positive attitude and remain focused when we encounter obstacles.

Operational Excellence: We are committed to building a team of competent, caring individuals who will represent the values of SpringSpirit.

Our Mission.

Our Story

Our Team

Our Comunidad Team

Our Board

Our Partners

Our Core Values

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Our Story

Melissa and Kenny BaldwinCo-Founders and President

Our Team

Administration

Pitner Campus Team

Campbell Campus Team

Community Advisory/Ambassador Committee

Luis Rojas - CAAT President and SpringSpirit Board Member

Rosalba Covarrubias - Vice President and Community Chair

Grecia Castro CAAT Member - Ministry

Cristina Urbina (Cristy) - CATT MEMBER - Ministry Chair

Stephanie Lizama - CAAT Member - Softball Chair

Francisco Lopez - CAAT Member - Soccer Chair

Andy - CAAT Member - Education Chair

Wayne Weathersby CAAT Member - Baseball Chair

Jesus Garza

Susana

Patricia

Our Board

Our Founding Partners

Founding Partners

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Melissa and Kenny Baldwin
Co-Founders and President