Manuel Rodriguez, Jr. was born in Houston, Texas in 1980. He spent most his childhood among his family of five sisters, three brothers, mother and father. At age 14, he was certified to stand trial as an adult, convicted of a serious crime and sentenced to 20 years in the Texas prison system.  During his incarceration, Manny spent much of his time in academic study, spiritual devotion and self-awareness development.  Above all, through his incarceration, Manuel learned and demonstrated character and values and built a relationship with God.  Manuel was accepted into Class “Noble” 19 of the Prison Entrepreneurship Program in 2012, where he developed a business plan for Pansy Press International.
After graduation, Manny served as a Servant Leader and Peer Educator for PEP until he was released in October 2014..  He quickly obtained employment at a local bakery and café owned by an active PEP Executive Volunteer, then resigned in March 2015 to join the PEP staff as a Transition Coordinator.  His focus right now is completing his Bachelor’s in English at the University of Houston.  His life mission is demonstrating Servant-Leadership at work, at home and throughout the community.