Building Brighter Futures with Intelligent Systems
At Inspire Development Centers, change starts with one child, one family, and one community at a time. For more than four decades, this Washington-based nonprofit has been a lifeline for rural and migrant families, offering early childhood education. Since opening its doors in 1983 with seven centers in the Yakima Valley, Inspire has expanded to 25 centers statewide and is now one of the largest community-based organizations in the Pacific Northwest, serving over 3,500 families annually.
Guiding that growth is Jorge Castillo, who has dedicated over 30 years to the organization and is now serving his ninth year as CEO. From his early days in procurement to becoming executive aide to the former CEO, Castillo’s leadership has been shaped by lived experience and deep alignment with Inspire’s mission. His personal story mirrors that of the families they serve, many of whom, like his own parents, migrated for work and sought better lives through education. “When I see those children, I see myself,” he says.
Over the years, Inspire’s success has come with increasing complexity. A growing footprint, expanding programs, and multilingual communities created new operational demands that couldn’t be met by legacy systems alone. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed both vulnerabilities and possibilities, prompting Inspire to fully leverage its recently launched learning management system, adopt Microsoft Teams, and use other digital tools to maintain services during shutdowns. “That was a pivotal moment,” Castillo reflects. “We saved money, stayed connected, and realized we could do more with technology than we thought.”
That realization led to a bigger shift in mindset. While technology wasn’t traditionally central to Inspire’s classroom work, Castillo saw an opportunity to enhance the systems that support those classrooms - from employee training to internal communication to benefit delivery. With mounting interest in AI across the business sector, he began thinking differently about what was possible. “We started hearing about AI everywhere,” he says. “Not just as a buzzword, but as something we could apply to simplify and strengthen how we operate behind the scenes. I love the challenge of big change. A lot of organizations like ours aren’t even thinking about AI. I want us to be ahead,” says Castillo.
To help turn that vision into reality, Inspire partnered with Turning Point. Together, they are developing a knowledge-grounded AI system designed to automate time-consuming administrative work, improve employee access to company-specific information in multiple languages, and even sharpen processes like grant writing and onboarding. “This is about improving our processes and giving our people the tools they need to do their jobs better while also enriching the employee experience,” Castillo explains. “We’re not taking away the human element. We’re using AI to help make our mission clearer to our staff, our partners, and our communities.”
That mission is deeply rooted in equity and outcomes. Inspire tracks the progress of every child who enters its programs, measuring growth from the start of the season to kindergarten readiness. For Castillo, success isn’t defined by size or scale, but by impact. “When we get to a point where this new technology is helping improve those outcomes for children, that’s when we’ll know we’ve succeeded.”
“Working alongside Jorge and his team is a privilege. They approach leadership with humility, curiosity, and care, always focused on creating meaningful impact. Their willingness to embrace fresh approaches demonstrates a lasting commitment to the families and communities they serve, as well as the dedicated staff who bring their mission to life. At Turning Point, we’re proud to help them harness AI in practical ways, freeing their team to focus on what matters most: preparing children for lifelong success,” says Natalie Zier, COO at Turning Point.
Inspire Development Centers is responding to change with intention and courage, harnessing technology not to replace what makes their work human, but to deepen their impact and scale their ability to serve. As they look ahead, they are building a future where mission and innovation go hand in hand. And for Castillo, that future is both a professional pursuit and a personal calling.
