For the first 20 years of his career, just after graduating from the University of Texas with an MBA, Steven helped small or startup software companies design their strategy, get funding and execute their business plans. Most of the companies grew and were eventually sold.
Outside of work, he has a small non-profit that helps fund learning opportunities for students who need financial assistance to achieve their dreams. He also serves on the board of Sea Mercy, an organization that delivers disaster recovery and educational programs to people on remote islands in the South Pacific.
Laura studied at Vanderbilt University, then was awarded the highly competitive Walter Wattles Fellowship at Lloyd's of London and worked in aviation insurance in New York City.
Following her calling into education, Laura earned her Master of Education at Peabody College, creating fine arts education programs at the Oklahoma Arts Institute. She married Jeff Sandefer and co-founded Acton Academy, inspired by their children Sam, Charlie, and Taite.
Zay is a technologist, educator, and serial entrepreneur. He has founded multiple technology startups including CTO of Cubus Corporation (acquired by Citadon), Chief Architect at Bitfone (acquired by HP), CTO of Remend Corporation (acquired by Fidelity), and Senior Consultant with Like.com (acquired by Google). Earlier in his career, he was part of the core teams at Autodesk and Electronic Arts.
Zay is President and Chairman of Phoenix Arising, which he co-founded with his wife Tasha Collier, to provide educational opportunities for economically disadvantaged students in Austin. He studied Electrical Engineering at Cornell University.
Jeff Sandefer lives a dual life as an entrepreneur and a Socratic Guide. He founded his first company at age 16 and went on to found or co-found seven successful businesses.
As a Socratic teacher at the University of Texas, Jeff's students five times voted him the school's Outstanding Teacher. He co-founded the Acton School of Business, an MBA program perennially ranked by the Princeton Review among the best in the nation. In 2012 The Economist honored him as one of the top fifteen Business School professors in the world.
Michael has advised and directed senior executives for nearly twenty years as a line operator, CEO, advisor, board member, and investor. He brings deep experience in business services, manufacturing, healthcare, and publishing.
He founded the Restoration Project in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, training former orphans in construction and life skills. Michael earned his BA from Middlebury College and MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth College where he was named an Edward Tuck Scholar.
Amy founded Amy's Ice Creams in 1984 in Austin, Texas. Based on the philosophy of "making people's day," it has grown to 15 stores in three cities, featured in Inc., Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, People, and Fast Company.
She also founded Phil's Ice House and Choose Austin First, an alliance of locally owned businesses. She was elected to Westlake Hills City Council and served as Mayor Pro Tem.