Even as a kid, Curtis Crawford MBA ’13 knew he wanted to shoot for the stars. He wanted to be an astronaut and even attended space camp one year. As he grew up and his head settled back below the clouds. Crawford became interested in travel agency work, seeking a way to satisfy his urge to explore. “I think what those two jobs have in common is ‘going far.’ I wanted to go far, see stuff, and do stuff.”
Growing up, Crawford thrived academically and enjoyed classes. Despite attending a large school, he found friends who remained with him from elementary school through high school. Crawford and his friends battled to beat each other’s test scores. He constantly pursued knowledge, enrolling in AP and IB courses. Although his passion for education never wavered, circumstances snatched the wind beneath Crawford’s sails. “My father passed away during my senior year of high school. That changed my life forever, and certainly dramatically changed what those first few years of college looked like.” In the wake of the tragedy, his time-bound full-ride scholarship to the University of Arizona became both a key and a manacle. “College was more about getting through it… I knew I was in the right place. I knew it needed to be done. I knew I wanted a degree. But if I could have waved a wand, I probably would have taken a break.”
After graduation, Crawford still thirsted for travel. He knew he wanted to move out of Arizona, so when a friend offered him their spare room, he packed up his Saturn SC2 and relocated to Philadelphia with $1,000 in his pocket. Crawford hoped that his serving experience, coupled with his new BA in Communications, would help him secure a job on the corporate side of the restaurant industry. A temp agency matched him with a sales administration position in credit card marketing. “There was a lot I enjoyed about that first job. I liked marketing, sales, my staff, and customer interaction.”
Two years into his role, Crawford approached his boss, seeking new opportunities for growth. His manager offered him a one-year management stint in Florida. “I was in Miami for Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, and Hurricane Wilma. I took that as a sign that God did not want me in Miami,” Crawford joked. He moved inland to Denver, where his best friend from college lived, prompted by a shift in his company role to sales. Both a rocket man and a rolling stone, his wanderlust itch kicked in with a new six-year tenure at Heartland Payment Systems.
Crawford leveraged his work-from-home job in Denver as an opportunity to expand his skill set and “go far”. “I wanted a core function that was transferable and solid; a skillset that gave me a lot of options about where I could live, and what companies I could work for.” For Crawford, that meant returning to school to earn his MBA. Opting to stay in-state, CU Denver Business School stood out, “It worked with my life. I thought the value, the return on investment, was high, and I was very happy to be affiliated with the CU brand.” The mile-high city is more than his alma mater’s locale; it’s where Crawford met his husband and had their daughter.
After graduating with his Master’s, Crawford began working for what is now CenturyLink in a role that allowed him to explore aspects of finance in new and exciting ways. While at this company, Crawford took on a personal passion as a founding member of the company’s LGBT Employee Resource Group (ERG), helping establish a supportive space for LGBTQ+ employees to connect and acting as an advocate on their behalf. Within this group, Crawford helped the company reach a perfect 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s equality index, which included codifying full healthcare benefits for transgender employees, ensuring that an often underrepresented community received necessary company support.
After 6 years of working his way up the ladder, he got an offer that he couldn’t refuse. “My husband was then a stay-at-home dad, our daughter was two, I got recruited by Amazon to come help them run their credit card program, and so I moved my family to Seattle.” After two years, Crawford received a promotion, and Amazon asked what else sparked his interest. He mentioned an international role, and less than three months later, the company flew Crawford and his family to London. His new role was more than just a location change; it was a field shift from Finance to Business Development.
After six years and various roles at Amazon, Crawford yet again yearned for a change, accepting a role running the credit card program and payment fraud systems at Wayfair. Less than six months into his role, he was promoted to oversee the Fintech and Loyalty programs, a position he now holds. Crawford’s position at the home goods retailer paired perfectly with his husband’s return to the workforce as an interior decorator, coalescing into an impeccably decorated home. Wayfair also brought Crawford back to the States, and settling in Boston meant that his daughter’s accent had become a lovely potpourri. “She’s a little bit Boston, a little bit British, and a little bit Denver.”
Crawford’s MBA may not have delivered his hopes for the moon and stars, but it produced a path to unseen places, introducing him to people who would change his life forever. “I am an extrovert, I enjoy connecting with people, I enjoy explaining things, I enjoy listening, I enjoy making sure I hear things correctly, I enjoy finding paths forward that are win-win, and solving challenges with other people.” CU Denver Business School is proud to be a part of Crawford’s journey to do what he loves, love what he does, and continue growing his orbit of positive impact.
