CHAIRPERSON
Richard A. Castro
McDonald’s Owner/Operator
Richard A. Castro is a businessman, civic leader, and philanthropist who has spent decades giving back to the communities he serves.
Mr. Castro’s early career saw him work as a teacher, city manager, realtor and builder. In 1983, he found professional success with his first McDonald’s restaurant. Since then his franchise has grown to 25 restaurants in West Texas with more than 1,000 employees.
Mr. Castro has served in leadership roles at both the local and national levels. He is a former president of the McDonald's Hispanic Owner/Operator Association and founder of McDonald's Hispanos Triunfadores, which recognizes successful Hispanics who have a history of giving back to their communities. He also helped found Community En Accion, a community-based organization of Hispanic professionals that focuses on art and culture; the Council for Regional Economic Expansion and Educational Development (CREEED), an El Paso organization committed to improving college and career options for high school students; and the Borderplex Alliance, a regional non-profit organization dedicated to economic development and prosperity in the Cd. Juarez, El Paso and southern New Mexico region.
Mr. Castro has a deep commitment to education. In 1985, he initiated creation of the Hispanic American Commitment to Educational Resources (HACER®) Scholarship Program as a partnership of McDonald’s Owner/Operators, Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC®) and McDonald’s Corporation. HACER has grown to become the largest scholarship program in the country for graduating Hispanic high school students. It has awarded over $25 million to deserving scholarship recipients. HACER also served as the model for the RMHC National Scholarship Program, which is open to students of all backgrounds.
Mr. Castro has received many community and professional awards. In 1997, he received the Alumnus of the Year Award from Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University). In 2005, Mr. Castro was named the Hispanic Business Man of the Year by the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) and was also honored with the 2005 Hispanic Magazine Entrepreneur Award. He has also received the Texas Association of the Mexican-American Chamber of Commerce’s Chairman's Community Support Award. In 2014, Texas State University named its undergraduate admissions center the Richard A. Castro Undergraduate Admission Center.