Prior to moving to Phoenix, Oye served as Executive Director of Eternal Sports Outreach in Los Angeles, which sought to empower young athletes to become business and civic leaders. There he recruited volunteer coaches/administrators, evaluated the effectiveness of development programs and utilized evaluation data to revise instructional objectives and methods.
Once in Phoenix, Oye founded and served as CEO of Gameplan AZ--an athletic consulting company dedicated to providing student-athletes and their families the tools to navigate and dominate the athletic recruiting process. While Oye’s long track record in urban education and entrepreneurship began as a teacher in both Compton and Los Angeles, he continues to invest in students by serving on the American Enterprise Institute with the Ideas Council where he invests in student leaders at Christian colleges. At Arizona State University, too, Oye is a Venture Mentor—for student-athletes at Arizona State University that aim to start businesses.
More recently, Oye served as a pastor at New City Church, leading members and the broader community to understand, embrace, and accomplish their mission to develop disciples locally and globally, as well as engage followers in worship, community and ministry.
Currently, Oye Waddell serves as pastor of Sojourn Village PHX--a community dedicated to seeking the flourishing of an urban/inner-city community named South Phoenix. With this same passion for families, Oye is also the CEO of the Hustle Real Estate Investment Fund which is designed to serve as a pathway to homeownership for low income individuals, helping to stabilize low income neighborhoods and bring stability to families.
Oye was selected by the Phoenix Business Journal as among the city's Top 40 Under 40 Business Men and Women for 2018. He is also a member of the Camelback Society an association of men called to the marketplace who intend to live all aspects of their lives before Christ. Conscious Capitalism a movement that focuses on businesses that have a purpose beyond profit. Oye Waddell has also been a Ted Style Talk Speaker on topics such as “Hustling for the Common Good” at Purdue University as well as a business conference speaker for Balle, an organization that fights for the flourishing of local businesses.
Oye attended the University of Washington on a full athletic football scholarship. He later earned a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California and a Master of Education from Arizona State University.
Oye, his wife Crys, and their four young children--Chariot, Clover, Crescent and Oye II--currently reside in Phoenix, Arizona.
