Maverick Author
RAY RESENDEZ
West Point Graduate, VP of Federal Solutions at ELB Learning, President of Nonprofit Supporting At-Risk Youth
"Nobody is counting on you to be perfect. Your people just want to know you won't walk away."
About Ray Resendez
Ray Resendez is a West Point graduate, combat veteran, leadership strategist, and VP of Federal Solutions at ELB Learning, where he drives innovation in AI-powered training and workforce development. His leadership philosophy wasn't forged in corner offices or executive retreats—it was built in the fires of real life: leading soldiers through deployment, scraping by as a BBQ food truck entrepreneur, becoming an instant stepfather to two grieving children, and earning an Executive MBA while working 18-hour days to keep his family afloat.
As a military officer, Ray led platoons through combat operations, earning the trust of battle-hardened NCOs not through rank but through presence—sitting shoulder-to-shoulder in HUMVEEs during long nights, listening to soldiers' stories about deployments, divorces, and dreams deferred.
As a community leader, Ray serves as president of a nonprofit supporting at-risk youth across Texas. What began as volunteer work evolved into an organization where first responders, business owners, and volunteers battling their own struggles discover that service heals the giver as much as the receiver.
Through military leadership, entrepreneurial reinvention, and community service, Ray has built a leadership philosophy grounded in one unshakable principle: presence over perfection. Show up. Don't quit. Lead from the trenches, not the balcony.
Chapter: "Mission First, People Always"
"Great leaders sometimes do the hardest thing: they stand beside you, quietly, and let you feel the full weight of your own decision."
In his transformative chapter for Maverick Leadership, Ray Resendez reveals how authentic leadership is forged not in moments of perfection, but through relentless presence during chaos. Through raw vulnerability and battle-tested principles, Ray exposes the leadership lesson most people miss: your team doesn't need you to be flawless—they need you to refuse to walk away.
Ray opens with a childhood moment that shaped everything: at nine years old, chosen for a traveling baseball tournament, he psyched himself out so badly he faked an ankle injury to avoid going. His father—a firefighter who worked 24-hour shifts and still showed up to practice every night—knew Ray was lying. But he didn't force him to go. He let Ray sit with the shame of quitting on himself. That restraint, that willingness to let Ray feel the weight of his own decision, became Ray's first lesson in leadership: growth must be owned, not imposed.
"Leadership at home is presence multiplied by consistency. It's not a speech or a title—it's a thousand small acts proving you're not going anywhere."
Through compelling stories spanning combat zones, financial collapse, blended family chaos, and entrepreneurial humility, Ray provides the framework maverick leaders use to build trust through fire: presence beats perfection, adversity shared becomes glue, and the ordinary moments—homework checks, late-night bill-paying, showing up when it's easier to disappear—are where real leadership is measured.
The chapter culminates with Ray's journey from barely scraping by to federal leadership, from food truck owner to corporate strategist, from stepfather uncertain of his place to Dad whose kids listen "because he's strict and checks on us." Ray's challenge is clear: "In the end, you lead not because you never failed, but because you never walked away."
What You'll Learn
The Baseball Diamond Principle: How Ray's firefighter father modeled presence over perfection—showing up bone-tired after 24-hour shifts, never demanding excellence, just refusing to miss a single practice or game. This became Ray's leadership DNA.
The Fake Ankle Injury Lesson: Why sometimes the hardest thing a leader can do is stand beside someone quietly and let them feel the full weight of their decision—and how this shapes stronger leaders than rescue or shame ever could.
From Combat to Kitchen Tables: How Ray earned trust from skeptical, battle-hardened soldiers not through rank but through presence—sitting in HUMVEEs during confessional nights, checking on everyone, refusing to disappear when leadership became less about answers and more about witness.
The Wrong Number That Saved a Life: Ray's most desperate moment—dialing a suicide hotline, getting a wrong number by accident, and the stranger who stayed on the line anyway. Her words became his leadership cornerstone: "Our duty is to serve here on earth, sweetie."
The Food Truck Crucible: How entrepreneurial humility taught Ray what West Point and the Army couldn't—that leadership stripped of credentials, title, and status must be rebuilt through service, one brisket at a time, proving yourself to clients who don't care who you used to be.
Three Transformative Takeaways:
1. Presence Over Perfection Is the Only Leadership Credential That Matters
Ray's father never played baseball. He didn't give inspiring speeches. He just showed up—bone-tired, broke, stressed—and threw with his sons until the sun disappeared behind El Paso mountains. That consistency pressed presence into Ray's DNA. Whether leading soldiers, stepchildren, or corporate teams, Ray learned that nobody is waiting for you to be flawless. They're watching to see if you'll quit. Rank doesn't earn trust. Titles don't build loyalty. Showing up when it's hard—that's what separates managers from leaders.
2. Adversity Shared Becomes Unbreakable Glue
Ray's blended family moved to Fort Benning with no money, no friends, and no safety net. Pizza night was a luxury. Sunday walks were therapy. But those lean months—beds made with teamwork, kitchen disasters met with tearful laughter—forged something that prosperity never could. Ray discovered what every maverick leader must learn: rituals matter more than riches, and the teams that suffer together don't just survive—they become invincible. The struggles you face alongside your people aren't obstacles to overcome. They're the foundation everything else is built on.
3. Leadership Is Measured in Ordinary Moments, Not Grand Gestures
When Ray's stepson explained why he listened—"Because Dad's strict and checks on us"—Ray realized leadership at home is presence multiplied by consistency. Not speeches. Not heroic moments. Just a thousand small acts: homework checked, games attended, meals shared, boundaries enforced with love. The same principle applied in combat, in business, in his nonprofit work with at-risk youth. The most powerful thing you can do is show up, especially when walking away would be easier. Legacy isn't built in boardrooms or on battlefields. It's built at kitchen tables, in late-night conversations, during the unsexy, unglamorous grind of simply refusing to leave.
Ray's Impact
Ray's leadership extends across multiple domains: military service leading combat operations, entrepreneurial ventures including a BBQ food truck business that supported his family during financial crisis, executive education earning an MBA while working full-time, and community transformation as president of a nonprofit supporting at-risk young men across Texas. As VP of Federal Solutions at ELB Learning, Ray drives innovation in AI-powered training and workforce development, bringing his unique blend of military discipline, entrepreneurial grit, and community-centered leadership to organizations navigating change. He coaches leaders through transformation, speaks on resilience and presence-based leadership, and mentors youth who need someone to show up consistently. Ray lives with his wife and their blended family of six kids, where he continues to practice what he preaches: mission first, people always, and presence over perfection every single day.
Connect with Ray Resendez
LinkedIn: Ray Resendez
Instagram: @rayresendez
