Conversation Summary: Gary Sheng & Devin Poindexter on Scheduling Meeting with Tauren Wells

Date: 2025-05-12

1. Introduction & Background (00:00 - 01:30)

The conversation began with Gary Sheng and Devin Poindexter introducing themselves. Devin identified himself as based in Nashville, Tennessee, and explained his professional relationship with Tauren Wells.

Devin Poindexter: "I've been working with Tor for about two and a half years. Uh, I've met him out on the road, I was working with like other artists and stuff and he and uh became close and then started working with him in the last couple of years."

Devin elaborated on his evolving role with Tauren, transitioning from tour manager/assistant to focusing more on artist management for other clients while still maintaining oversight of Tauren's calendar and scheduling.

Devin Poindexter: "I worked for Tor as kind of his tour manager/ass assistant for a while, um and then I started doing artist management., so I'm I'm pretty busy just managed some other arts and stuff like that, but I still kind of help oversee his calendar, things like that, I have odds on everything that's happening, so just some little stuff like that right now."

2. Gary's Interest in Whitestone Church and Educational Initiatives (01:30 - 04:30)

Gary expressed his connection to Whitestone Church in Austin, noting it was the first church he truly resonated with after moving to the area.

Gary Sheng: "Austin is where I found the first church I really resonated with. um and then and then I was invited to check out White Stone and I was like, oh, I really like this one, though. So, uh a lot of love for Austin, but definitely a lot of love for Whit Stone."

Gary then explained his interest in developing educational initiatives connected to Whitestone Church, revealing he had initially assumed the church already had a school affiliated with it due to its impressive facilities. He shared that he's working with a billionaire who is focused on establishing high-quality schools of various types.

Gary Sheng: "I literally thought I literally like assumed it was a like a a high school or like a K through 12 or something already because of the amazing facilities, you know? And I was like, wow, like, if this church is this good in nurturing, like I'm sure that there's a good school attached to it and um, you know, talking toward and Kevin, they were like, no, well, we have been in the plans, but if we are we haven't really overly prioritized it."

He positioned his work with churches and schools as part of his "divine purpose," explaining:

Gary Sheng: "I have a mandate, but it's also part of I would believe my divine purpose to help amazing churches to start their own schools so that kids never have to leave that sort of values aligned nurturing environment, but also still have a very high quality education."

3. Alpha Schools Background (04:30 - 06:15)

Gary provided context about Alpha Schools, describing it as an organization with a 10-year track record in K-12 education across multiple campuses, achieving impressive results with their students.

Gary Sheng: "Alpha Schools is the overall organization that has been doing its thing with K through 12 for about 10 years. um as a flagship campus uh in Austin, really like a a bunch of different campuses, depending on like niches and age ranges, including like really like preschool too."

Gary Sheng: "after, you know, lots of iteration and really good results taking kids out where like median test scores and taking them to top one percent, for example, um we're ready to to work with some really four thinking communities to to build the best schools of their particular, um, you know, depending on what the goals of that community are, right?"

4. Purpose of Proposed Meeting with Tauren Wells (06:15 - 08:45)

Gary outlined the purpose of the proposed meeting with Tauren Wells and Dr. Kevin, emphasizing that he wants to understand their vision and desires regarding educational initiatives.

Gary Sheng: "the purpose of this this uh sit down would be maybe like a dinner or something that we really I just find out what Tor really wants, what Dr. Kevin really wants, and um we kind of go from there because my network is pretty crazy."

He mentioned his upcoming White House meeting with Paula White, Trump's spiritual advisor, noting potential funding opportunities for faith-based initiatives that could benefit projects with Tauren Wells.

Gary Sheng: "I'm literally going to White House to meet with Paula White, who's Trump's top spiritual, like advisor... Trump is trying to allocate DI money that Biden allocated to faith-based initiatives and um like could could it be a good fit that he kind of bootstrap some really interesting ambitious projects with Torrin, including a school in the coming year? Like, I think totally."

5. Vision for Education Reform (08:45 - 10:30)

Gary shared his perspective on the current education system and his vision for transformation, offering a critique of traditional education while emphasizing the value of teachers.

Gary Sheng: "I believe that um our education system is uh we're basically paying taxes to meducate our kids and kill their creativities. Um, I think there's a lot of wonderful heart centered god godled teachers out there. Like it's not about being against teachers at all. It's about the system that is failing on every measure, I would say."

He spoke about his commitment to educational experimentation and more ambitious concepts like faith-based communities, not just schools.

Gary Sheng: "I'm deeply committed to running a lot of amazing experiments to make sure that we we never do that to to our kids long term. and and the future Torrin Wells, the future Devin are are never stuck in a classroom where they're like questioning whether they're valued or whether they should pursue their dreams."

Gary Sheng: "we should be running not just like faith based school experiments, we should be running like faith based community experiments that are highly innovative and leveraging all the best, you know, understanding of how to do city planning and also AI and, you know, just everything that we've learned and and innovated on over the past, you know, however many years, right?"

6. Scheduling the Meeting (10:30 - 12:15)

Devin expressed enthusiasm for the ideas and confirmed his intent to facilitate a meeting between Gary, Tauren Wells, and Dr. Kevin.

Devin Poindexter: "That's that's amazing to hear and very powerful. And I haven't been talking to So I just from uh with Dr. K and one, like we looking forward to chat with you more detail about everything and really want something that's happening soon as we can."

Gary suggested meeting after his White House trip, and they settled on a dinner meeting in early June. Devin consulted Tauren's calendar and proposed dates.

Devin Poindexter: "It looks like that first week in June, he could either do Monday or Wednesday nights for dinner. Those look the best."

They agreed on Monday, June 2nd at 6:30 PM for a two-hour meeting, with Gary offering to host and cover the cost.

7. Location Planning & Meeting Details (12:15 - 13:45)

Gary inquired about Tauren's location in Austin and dietary preferences, learning that Tauren lives in Georgetown and enjoys steak but follows varying diets.

Gary Sheng: "where does he live in Austin?" Devin Poindexter: "He lives in Georgetown. I'm not sure exactly what are, but it's somewhere in Georgetown."

Devin Poindexter: "he does like steak, but he also like he's always doing a different type of diet, so I'm not sure what he'll be doing at that point."

Gary expressed a preference for meeting downtown near the Alpha High campus to provide a tour of the facilities.

Gary Sheng: "I would prefer if we do something closer to downtown near the Alpha high campus, I'll send you the address, because I'd love to give him a tour of the of the flagship."

8. Conclusion & Next Steps (13:45 - 14:30)

Devin committed to confirming the date with Tauren and Dr. Kevin, promising to follow up soon. Gary also extended an invitation for more casual interaction around church services.

Devin Poindexter: "I'll I'll follow up withorn and Dr. Kevin after this and just uh confirm that that date's good, it looks wide open, but he'll hit it that quickly. I'll let you know and we have to figure out where that's at."

Gary Sheng: "let me know when you're in town cause we can all just hang out. um like add or after church, you know."

The call concluded with mutual expressions of excitement about the upcoming meeting and future collaboration possibilities.

Key Themes & Insights

1. Professional Networking: The conversation demonstrates the importance of personal connections in establishing meaningful collaborations, with Devin serving as a critical link between Gary and Tauren Wells.

2. Faith-Based Education: Gary articulates a vision for integrating faith with high-quality education, seeing churches as natural environments for nurturing both spiritual and intellectual development.

3. Innovative Community Development: Beyond just schools, Gary hints at more ambitious concepts like faith-based communities that integrate city planning, technology, and faith principles.

4. Strategic Relationship Building: The careful planning of the dinner meeting, including considerations of location and timing, reveals Gary's strategic approach to building important relationships.

5. Political Connections: Gary's mention of his White House meeting suggests he's positioned to potentially leverage political connections and funding opportunities for faith-based educational initiatives.

6. Educational Reform Philosophy: Gary presents a critique of traditional education while emphasizing respect for teachers, focusing on systemic changes rather than individual educators.

7. Collaborative Approach: Throughout the conversation, Gary emphasizes wanting to understand Tauren and Dr. Kevin's vision rather than imposing his own, suggesting a collaborative mindset.