Chad has described Café Momentum as “taking kids out of jail and teaching them to play with knives and fire.” Levity aside, it’s his vision for systemic change and passion for our country’s future that’s led him to spend the last 10 years building a proven model that teaches life, social and employment skills to justice-involved youth. After 17 years as a chef, Chad sold his partnership with Parigi Restaurant to devote his full attention to the role of Executive Director of Café Momentum in 2012. Café Momentum Dallas has consistently been ranked as one of the top restaurants in Dallas since its opening in 2015.

In 2020, Chad co-founded Momentum Advisory Collective, a non-profit organization built to scale Café Momentum and the Momentum model for juvenile justice across
the country and currently has programs running in Nashville and Pittsburgh.