Dreamkeeper™ Spotlight: Byron Sanders

Humility, integrity, a commitment to others, leadership, and devotion to family; these are the qualities that define Byron Sanders. As a community leader and the CEO and founder of Arete Health, he places the health and care of people at the forefront, shaping both his life and career around a profound sense of purpose. A former leader in education, Sanders has continually bet on himself to build a legacy, impact society, and create opportunities for others along the way. He carries the quiet authority of someone who has embraced his own humanity, the power of connection, and the responsibility of living a values-driven life.

Talking with Sanders was like looking into a reflecting pool. His story invited me to question who I am at my core, teaching me that the greatest lessons can become catalysts for greatness. We adore him because of his transparency to share his journey of becoming. It isn’t just about ambition or entrepreneurship, it’s about resilience, reflection, and the subtle, transformative power of self-awareness.

BYRON SANDERS IN CONVERSATION

Q: What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken in pursuit of your dreams?

I think it’s what I’m doing right now, actually. This is the first time I’m sitting in this seat as the CEO and founder of a small business. It’s the biggest professional risk I’ve ever taken. I’ve been a CEO before, I’ve been an executive director before, but always for nonprofits. This is the first time I’ve ever been in a position where I’m truly betting on myself, and on a mission that not only aims to make an impact on society, but also allows me to feed my family, build a legacy, and create generational resources that will shape a new reality for everyone who comes after me.

Starting Arete Health was born out of a deep pain, a deep wound, that I experienced during my time as CEO of a nonprofit organization. In 2019, we lost one of our most beloved employees, a brilliant poet who worked closely with youth in the community and in the juvenile system. He was someone who genuinely loved humanity. He passed away suddenly from a heart attack brought on by asthma, and I found out later that something that could have been prevented if he’d had health insurance, this was because he didn’t have coverage. Because he was not a full-time employee, he wasn’t eligible for our organization’s health coverage. That loss, and the pain of knowing it could have been avoided, is what gave birth to Arete Health: a company committed to providing affordable and accessible health care coverage to those who need it.

“Every gift is an assignment, and every blessing is a responsibility. We are not blessed so that we can simply be a blessing to ourselves. Blessings come through other people. And if we are not willing, not open, and do not see it as our solemn duty to continue blessing others, then to what end were we even blessed in the first place?”

Q: What’s a moment in your journey when failure taught you something unexpected?

I was able to identify my purpose after going through a really dark period in my life. Looking back, I’d say I was actually gifted with the chance to make a mistake early on. After high school, I attended Southern Methodist University, and that’s where I ran into my crucible.

I had always been an overachiever, constantly joining every extracurricular, club, or program I could, trying to make my home life better. Growing up, I didn’t have the best home environment and carried a lot of trauma. My way of coping was to stay busy, that’s how I survived.

When I got to SMU, I kept doing the same thing. I became a freshman senator, and later the youngest president ever of the programming board. Eventually, I joined a fraternity. But unfortunately, that fraternity was expelled after a tragic accident involving a pledge.

After that, I lost myself. I felt like I had become everything I’d worked so hard not to be caught in the same cycles and pain I thought I’d escaped. My whole identity had been built around doing the right thing, helping people, bringing joy, and suddenly, I was in a position where I had caused harm instead.

It was devastating. I went through a lot personally, and I couldn’t return to school after being expelled. There was a period where I didn’t know how to go on. And that’s when a man named Earl Johnson stepped in. He threw me a lifeline, one that ultimately saved my life. He helped me get into another university, giving me a second chance. That was when I got a new lease on life.

Looking back, I’m grateful this happened in my very formative years. I think I needed to fall as hard as I did, to really shock me into a completely different way of life. Otherwise, it would’ve looked very similar on the outside. I would’ve still been out there, doing good, trying to help people. I still had those components, those elements in me. But, my gosh, ego would’ve been dead center in all of it. And that’s where it gets really dangerous.

"There’s people who act like they’re the “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” types; well, for one it’s literally impossible. Gravity doesn’t even work like that. Because it always takes somebody else to help pull on your bootstraps, to lift you up.”

Q: Who in your life challenges you to dream differently?

My wife. She challenges me to dream differently. And it’s not even always by what she says. Sometimes, even when she doesn’t say a word, just the image of her, the idea of her, who she is, and what she deserves. That alone moves me. As my wife, my partner, my best friend, she represents a kind of charge, a driving force that pushes me to live out the rest of my mission statement. It’s who she is, what she means to me, and where she fits in my equation for a good and fulfilling life. My highest calling is to be the best husband I can be.

"I’ve thrown away every five-year plan I’ve ever written, because nothing is better than what God’s placed in front of me. There are no better opportunities than the ones that have opened up. I didn’t have enough imagination to even dream of where I am right now.”

Q: If your dream were a movie, what would the title be?

It’s actually the title of the book that’s coming — A Different Kind of Knife.

There are things in my life that have given me a certain kind of edge, a different kind of edge. It comes from the confluence of so many different experiences that have shaped who I am, and I feel like it’s meant for a different kind of use. It hasn’t always been easy, especially with the knife analogy. But blades can be used for a lot of different things. They can be used for good.

And that’s what I’m trying to be.

"The ability to be honest with yourself, to really assess yourself, to step outside of who you are and look at yourself objectively — that’s powerful. To be honest in that space.”

Q: What’s your dream anthem? What’s the song that fuels your ambition? The one you got to have on replay.

This is going to sound like I’m pandering, but Be, that album, is my album.

It was the soundtrack to me rediscovering who I was. It was what I listened to most during that journey. And it wasn’t just about the lyrics, it was about what was happening in my life at the time, and who I was, or who I was trying to be. That was what was in question. I didn’t believe in myself after SMU. That album became the soundtrack to my rediscovery, to finding my purpose again.

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