Leadership
Albert L. Reyes is the sixth president and CEO of Buckner International and has worked for Buckner since 2007. He previously served as president of Buckner Children and Family Services.
Prior to joining Buckner, Reyes was president of Baptist University of the Américas in San Antonio, where he led the school through dramatic changes in its name, accreditation and structure. Under Reyes, the school’s annual operating budget increased from $700,000 to more than $3.2 million.
Reyes also has served as pastor of three churches and as a manager for Sprint’s National Customer Service Center. He has been involved in numerous roles with the 2.5 million-member Baptist General Convention of Texas, serving as its president in 2005.
Reyes received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management from Angelo State University, a Master of Divinity in Theology, and a Doctor of Ministry in Missiology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Global Leadership from Andrews University.
He contributes as a member of the board of trustees of the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO), Angelo State University Foundation, Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, and the Baptist World Alliance. In 2022, Reyes received the Leadership Excellence Award in the category of mega nonprofit at D CEO’s Nonprofit and Corporate Citizenship Awards and the UN Day Global Leadership Award from the Dallas Chapter of the United Nations Association of the USA. He was also selected as a member of the 2023 D CEO Dallas 500, the most influential business leaders in North Texas.
He has authored three books, The Jesus Agenda: Becoming an Agent of Redemption (Believers Press, 2015), Hope Now: Peace, Healing, and Justice When the Kingdom Comes Near (Iron Stream Books, 2019) and Never Alone: The Power of Family to Inspire Hope (Iron Stream Books, 2024).
Reyes and his wife Belinda have three adult sons. He enjoys reading, writing, hiking, movies and travel. The Reyes family are active members of Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas.
Visit https://www.albertlreyes.com/ to explore more of Reyes’ writing and leadership insights.
As vice president of communications, Christopher Ruth oversees Buckner International’s strategic public relations, marketing and external communications initiatives. Ruth has the privilege of leading an award-winning team of communications professionals. Together, they are charged with aligning strategic communication goals that support the greater mission of the nonprofit.
Ruth joined Buckner in 2018. Prior to Buckner, his PR and marketing experience covered a variety of industries, including nonprofit, real estate, technology, entertainment, finance, retail and more.
Ruth holds a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaigne. He is an active member in the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Dallas chapter. For PRSA Dallas, he served as co-chair of the 2022-2023 nonprofit workshop, president-elect in 2024 and chapter president for 2025.
He holds an Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) and a PRSA advanced crisis communications certificate.
Henry Jackson is president of Buckner Children and Family Services. In his role as president, Jackson is the key driver, champion and visionary of strategic initiatives that advance BCFS’s visibility, reputation and success as the nonprofit works to serve vulnerable children and families in Texas and internationally.
Jackson has worked at Buckner since 1989, most recently as senior vice president of BCFS. He has also served as vice president of international operations, administrator, director of residential services and human resources manager.
Prior to Buckner, Jackson served as a free agent contract with the Chicago Bears in the National Football League. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Angelo State University and his Master of Science from Amberton University. He is also a licensed child care administrator and an ordained minister.
Jackson and his wife, Lee Ellen, have three children. They are members of Emmanuel Newlife Fellowship in Dallas, Texas. He enjoys fishing, exercise and studying his Bible and is actively involved in Toastmasters International.
Jan Cothran is vice president and chief financial officer at Buckner International. Cothran joined Buckner in 2019 and has more than 25 years of experience in accounting and finance.
She began her career as an auditor at Coopers & Lybrand and then spent over two decades at Southwest Airlines in a variety of roles providing auditing, finance and accounting.
Cothran holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting, as well as a Master of Science in accounting, both from Texas A&M University. She is also a Certified Public Accountant.
Cothran and her husband Chad live in Dallas, Texas.
Jeff Gentry is executive vice president and chief operating officer for Buckner International, where he is responsible for overseeing Buckner’s financial systems and administrative support services. Gentry joined Buckner in 2017 and has more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit management.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Millsaps College and a Master of Arts in accounting with an emphasis in taxation from the University of Mississippi. He is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
Jennifer Mann oversees human resources for Buckner International, Buckner Children and Family Services and Buckner Retirement Services. She joined Buckner in 2023 and brings more than 20 years of experience including serving as the vice president, human resources for Bassett Healthcare Network, the chief HR officer for Damar Services and HR leadership roles at Korn Ferry and HighPoint Global.
Mann earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Indiana University.
Mann and her husband Rob have two sons. They are active members of the Twin Creeks Church of Christ in Allen, Texas.
Kandyce Ormes-Ripley began her journey with Buckner as a volunteer in an orphanage in Russia. She later joined Buckner Children and Family Services in Aug. 2009 as a life skills specialist. Ormes-Ripley was promoted to manager of organizational effectiveness in 2010 and promoted again to manager of performance in 2012. She was promoted to manager of quality and performance in 2014 followed by another promotion in 2015 to manager of program monitoring.
Ormes-Ripley continued to develop her skills which led to her promotion to project manager of operational analytics improvement in Jan. 2017. In June 2017, she was promoted to director of program design and in 2020, she was promoted again to senior director of program development and design.
Ormes-Ripley graduated with a doctorate in learning and organization change management from Baylor University in May 2023. She holds a Master of Business Administration from LeTourneau University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in human resources and family studies from East Texas Baptist University. She earned a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification in 2012 and Certified Green Belt, Quality Assurance/Six Sigma in 2013, both from Purdue University. In 2015, she earned certifications from Inside NGO in project management for development professionals, Level 1 and 2, Non-Profit/Public/Organization.
Ormes-Ripley and her husband Derek have two fur babies, Gracie and Ranger.
Ken Robbins was named senior vice president of Buckner Retirement Services in 2025, after serving as interim leader of the organization in 2024. As the senior vice president, Ken provides strategic leadership to the organization and its seven communities.
Robbins brings more than 30 years of progressive leadership experience in nonprofit, faith-based senior living communities. He previously served as the president and founder of Scott Senior Services, LLC, where he operated a consulting company specializing in development assistance, strategic planning and operational support.
Most of Robbins’ career was spent working for Trinity Senior Living Communities in Michigan from 1998 until 2016, starting as a regional director and retiring as president and CEO.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a Master of Arts in public administration, both from Northern Michigan University. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force, serving as an air traffic control operator, supervisor and officer from 1981 to 1992.
Richard M. Muñoz is the vice president of legal services and privacy & compliance officer for Buckner International.
Since 2007, Muñoz has provided legal advice and counsel for Buckner affiliates in Texas and internationally. Prior to joining Buckner, he was a trial attorney for private firms and the U.S. Department of Labor.
Muñoz is a graduate of Baylor University School of Law where he received a juris doctorate. He also has a Master of Business Administration from Sam Houston University and Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas A&M University.
He volunteers as the chair of the board of directors for a local nonprofit that helps victims of human trafficking and is the past chair of the international law section of the State Bar of Texas.