Michael Castro

Background

About Michael Castro

Michael is a sports and social impact leader with over a decade of experience spanning law, philanthropy, community engagement and corporate partnerships. He currently serves as a Program Facilitator at RISE, a national nonprofit that educates and empowers the sports community to eliminate racial discrimination, champion social justice and improve race relations. Previously, Michael served as Director of Development at Access Youth Academy, leading donor relations, communications and external affairs. He managed the organization’s donor pipeline, developed strategic engagement campaigns and secured partnerships across corporate, philanthropic and government sectors. His initiatives helped sustain a 100% high school graduation and college acceptance rate, generating over $18M in scholarships and 15 national titles for student-athletes. Before that, he worked on the Community Engagement Team at SoFi Stadium, producing 40+ large-scale events in partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers, College Football Playoff, WWE and CONCACAF Gold Cup. His efforts leveraged sports and entertainment to advance youth programs in STEAM, health & wellness, sustainability, and financial literacy. Michael also served as Chief of Staff at The Kinship Advisors, where he supported athlete-driven philanthropy, including initiatives for Jrue & Lauren Holiday, Jaylen Brown and Ben Simmons, among others. Earlier in his career, he co-founded All-Star Advocacy, an athlete-led nonprofit promoting civic engagement during the 2020 election cycle in collaboration with MLB players. He holds a J.D. in Sports & Entertainment Law from California Western School of Law, a B.A. in Political Science from Cal State Long Beach and professional certificates in Global Sports Management (NYU) and NIL Consulting & Education (Student-Athlete Insights). Born and raised in San Diego, California, Michael is passionate about harnessing the power of sport, entertainment, and education to drive meaningful social change and community impact.