Meet the Team

Originally from Puerto Rico, Luis Castro is a facilities and capital projects executive with more than 25 years of experience leading facilities operations, large-scale renovations, infrastructure modernization, and technology integration across the hospitality, government, nonprofit, and private club sectors. Before joining the Schaap Center, Luis spent five years at the Detroit Athletic Club, where he first served as Director of Facilities and later as Director of Capital Projects. During his tenure, he oversaw more than $30 million in capital investment, delivering all major renovations on time and under budget.  At the DAC, Luis also developed and implemented a comprehensive HVAC Strategy that modernized central plant systems, automated more than 90% of the HVAC infrastructure, and achieved over 7% in annual energy savings, establishing a model for holistic facility management and long-term performance.

Prior to his time in Detroit, Luis held engineering and operations leadership roles in Florida, Washington, D.C., Dallas, TX, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Notably, as Director of Facilities Management for Dallas County, TX, he managed over 8.5 million square feet across 55 county-owned and 10 leased facilities. Earlier in his career, he held key engineering positions at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis, Loews Miami Beach Hotel, Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Sheraton Miami Airport Hotel & Executive Meeting Center, the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, and the Washington Hilton.

Luis lives in Grosse Pointe Park with his wife, Milisa Santiago, a Spanish teacher in the Roseville School District, and their daughter, Mia Castro, a senior at Grosse Pointe South High School who plans to pursue a major in the arts.

Amy is an experienced hospitality and patron services professional with a strong background in guest relations, team leadership, and event coordination within performing arts and hospitality settings. She has supervised front-of-house teams, supported large-scale banquets and special events, and trained staff to provide consistent, high-quality service. Her work emphasizes efficiency, warmth, and thoughtful process implementation to create exceptional patron experiences.

In addition to her professional experience, Amy brings more than two decades of active involvement in the theatre community. A 20-plus-year member of Grosse Pointe Theatre, she is an award-winning stage manager with over 25 years of combined onstage and backstage experience. Her deep commitment to the performing arts continues to guide her work as she supports, promotes, and celebrates theatre and its ability to connect and inspire.

With experience collaborating with vendors, coordinating volunteers and memberships, and providing vital administrative support, she approaches hospitality management with both strategic vision and hands-on engagement. Amy is thrilled to support The Schaap Center in its inaugural year and looks forward to contributing to its growth, mission, and community-centered artistic programming.

Amy lives in Washington Township with her husband Jon Ricker, President of H.M. White LLC, their daughter Mackenzie, 2024 graduate of College for Creative Studies and Jonathan III., sophomore at Lawrence Technological Institute studying embedded software engineering.

Originally from England, Katie has 30 years’ experience as a graphic designer, writer, and marketing professional. She has been proudly working with the Schaap Center since the beginning of the project and is excited to see the facility become the major arts center it was destined to be.

Through her business, Honest Opinion, Katie supports non-profit organizations and small businesses in Grosse Pointe providing design and marketing services. She has a strong reputation as a trusted business partner rather than just another supplier, clients value her experience to handle all aspects of a project and her ability to make a difference to everyone she works with. She is also an accomplished writer, with a weekly historical architectural blog for local Realtor Higbie Maxon Agney, that now has over 500 posts, and as a published author – her first book Grand Estates of Grosse Pointe, was released in 2020.

Prior to moving to the United States, in 2008, Katie enjoyed a successful career in publishing that was followed by working for several leading advertising agencies in London as a graphic designer and a senior account manager. She has been fortunate enough to work with B2B and B2C clients all over the world.

Katie lives in St. Clair Shores with her husband William, an automotive consultant, and their rescue dog from Spain – a young Spanish Greyhound named Bitsy.