Robert Woods

Robert Woods, M.Ed., is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Success and Independence (TCSI), a CARF-certified, non-profit mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment agency serving adolescents ages 12-17 since 1999.  TCSI provides long-term residential treatment and intensive outpatient services to youth who are suffering from emotional distress, behavioral health issues, substance abuse, other addictive disorders, and trauma, such as abuse, neglect, abandonment and child sex trafficking.

In 2015, TCSI launched the Recreational Alternative Program (RAP), a new peer support after-school recovery program designed in partnership with Harris County Juvenile Probation and Rockwell Foundation for low-income and minority adolescents.  TCSI was also named the recipient of a federal grant with Montrose Clinic for the development of pregnancy and STD prevention programs for youth, especially in the LGBT community.  TCSI also provides training and clinical services to address traumatic stress disorders among juvenile justice-involved youth, with a special focus on girls and boys who are victims of domestic child sex trafficking.  Mr. Woods has been successful in building partnerships for these expanded programs with generous grants from SAMHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Rockwell Fund, and The Simmons Foundation, among others, and is currently working with the Victims of Crime Act.  In addition to his duties at the Center, Mr. Woods maintains a private practice and is sought out as a trusted advisor to organizations interested in starting residential treatment facilities and as a mentor for teens.

Mr. Woods began his former football career at Grambling State University.  He was ranked as a number one punt returner in the nation as a college senior, and was ranked in the top ten for yardage and points scored.  He was a world-class sprinter who was ranked among the top five fastest men in the world for two years in a row.  Upon graduation, he was drafted in the fifth round of the NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.  He subsequently played with the Cleveland Browns, the Detroit Lions, and for three years with the Houston Oilers.  Mr. Woods also played in the Canadian Football League.  As a Certified Therapeutic Recreational Specialist (CTRS), he uses his experience in sports and activity to engage his patients in the therapeutic process.  Mr. Woods went on to earn his M.Ed. at Texas Southern University.

Mr. Woods serves on several boards, including the Homeless Youth Network of Houston/Harris County, Network of Behavioral Health Providers, Adolescent Recovery Oriented Systems of Care (AROSC), the NFL Alumni Association, Houston Heights Association, and the advisory board for the “Generation Found” film production, a story of youths, their families and the community in the process of recovery.  He has also served on the boards of the Houston Area Women’s Center and Child Advocates.

He is an active volunteer with the Dan Pastorini Charity and Bum Phillips Charities and actively participates in fundraising events for these and other organizations. Mr. Woods is also a 2019 Be an Angel Honoree recipient and a proud donor of his alma mater Grambling State University’s Robert Woods Scholarship.