Nick Gonzales

Founder & Executive Director

Nick Gonzales re​sides in Salt Lake City, Utah with his wife Alia and 3 kids Aiden, Brynley, and Carter. He was born and raised in Houston, TX and graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Music Education from Sam Houston State University. Nick spent 13 years as an educator in Houston before moving to Utah. He is currently the Director of Instrumental Music at West Lake Stem Junior High in the Granite School District. Nick is also a presenter for the Midwest International Band & Orchestra Conference and serves as the Western Division Chair for the Music Education Alliance Foster Project which is an initiative that supports Title 1 band programs in under served communities across the country.
​Nick's vision for Stone of Hope Youth began years ago when he taught music at a Title 1 School in Houston, TX. He noticed that too many of his students lacked the basic needs in their personal life such as parental support, encouragement, steady family income, and a safe home and community. Nick's passion has always been to speak life, teach and inspire kids to achieve more than they could ever imagine no matter of their home situation. We at Stone of Hope Youth have a desire to help raise young boys to become great men of integrity. A desire that will bless inner city kids with opportunities that are not easily available to them. We will teach, encourage, and mentor our youth while showing them success comes from hard work, dedication, faith in God, and never giving up.

Casey Spencer

Co-founder, Director of Camps and Development

Casey Spencer resides in Salt Lake City, UT with his wife Emily and their 2 kids: Ada Claire (5) and Graham (2). Casey and Emily were born and raised in Jonesboro, Arkansas and moved to Salt Lake City in June of 2016. He graduated from Arkansas State University with a B.S. in Marketing Management and was a firefighter for the city of Jonesboro, AR for 6 years prior to moving to Utah. God asked his family to step out in faith and follow His calling on their lives to be in Salt Lake City; to work with youth and to lead others in a growing faith in Jesus. Casey loves his family and being active, which includes: hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, snowboarding, and CrossFit. His biggest desire is to use fitness and sports to help youth grow and be more than they ever thought possible.

Ruan de Lange

Director of Key Relationships

Ruan de Lange grew up in Cape Town, South Africa where he had the privilege to be surrounded by the beauty of the mountains, ocean and wildlife, all in one place! He has a heart for Africa and his travels have taken him to remote parts of the country where he has assisted and facilitated youth development and sport leadership programs. He completed his degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Ruan's upbringing exposed him to the divide between developed and underdeveloped communities and he has since been spurred to understanding the link between the economy and societies, specifically in rural communities and populations. He is currently a doctoral student at the University of Utah in Parks, Recreation and Tourism with a focus on community development and well-being. He has a passion for seeing youth develop to their full potential through sport and mentorship programs.

Victor Bohnen

Director of Youth Counseling

Victor Bohnen Currently resides in Salt lake City Utah. He was born and raised in a small town of Grand Marais, MN and graduated with my associates degree in Natural resources/law enforcement. He spent the next 5 years exploring the world and working abroad in multiple work settings. In 2015, God put a calling on my heart to move to Salt lake City and work for troubled youth, inner-city teens and young adults. He worked for the State of Utah under the Juvenile Justice service as a counselor. He has a passion and a fire to serve the "fatherless" and speak life into the mighty young warriors of our future. Victor loves the outdoors and has a passion to teach spiritual discipline, physical discipline and emotional discipline. Victor is currently a firefighter for Twin Peaks T2IA, one of Utah's go to wildland firefighting resources. 

Jeff Jewett

Director of Mentoring

Jeff Jewett has over 10 years of experience working with varying industries including IT, government, oil and gas, healthcare, recreation, hospitality, non-profit and education.  For 2 1/2 years up until early February 2014, Jeff had been working in the non-profit sector with men and women in transition trying to re-enter the workforce and reengage with their families and communities.  Many faced barriers such as past incarceration, history of addiction, lack of reliable transportation and homelessness.  Finding meaningful employment can very difficult when facing one of these barriers much less all four. Work is a critical step in restoring hope and dignity. We are all created to work regardless of our past. Jeff’s recent work experience with all the individual stories of transformation in addition to his own experiences have led to their most recent venture. Spring Back Utah Mattress Recycling cares deeply about having measurable impacts in our community. The family owned company opened in Salt Lake City in the early summer of 2014.  Spring Back Utah partners with landfills, hotels, mattress retailers/manufacturers, universities, hospitals, waste haulers, individuals and families to accomplish their sustainability goals. The social enterprise is committed to providing meaningful employment for individuals facing barriers re-entering the workforce as well as our environmental mission of diverting mattresses/ box springs from landfills. We believe these efforts greatly contribute to the wellbeing of our communities. Jeff lives in Salt Lake City with his wife and two children.

Patricia Shay

Director of Youth Development and Parent Connections

Patricia Shay currently resides in Salt Lake City Utah. She was born and raised in Brazil. There, she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and worked with families and children. After moving to the USA, she earned her Master's Degree in School Counseling and has worked as a School Counselor for more than 10 years. Patty loves helping youth become college, career and life ready.  Her mantra is “it takes a village to raise a child and access to education to make him/her succeed.” She works closely with directors and mentors to make sure activities and events are developmentally appropriate and model the desired skills youth will need when facing their daily  challenges.  Because Patty believes parent/guardian engagement and input are crucial to help youth achieve their higher potential, she uses her knowledge of Portuguese, English and Spanish to facilitate parental involvement  and acts as a link between parents and Stone of Hope Youth. When not counseling or mentoring, Patty enjoys spending time with family and friends, hiking, taking pictures and trying impossible-to-fail recipes which she always manage to prove wrong with her still in development cooking skills.