Clinton Hughey MBA ’25 grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. ‘Music City’ left him with a fundamental love of music and nature. Nights spent camping beneath open skies lead Hughey to a revelation. “I realized at a very young age that this world is precious, and we need to protect it.” Food also found its way into his heart. Hughey worked in many restaurants, but even before that, he saw food as a unique art form. “I see food as a functional art, for one, because we need to eat, but I think it’s a really cool medium because it touches all five senses, not a lot of art does that.”
Called by the ocean and looking for a change of pace and scenery, Hughey moved to California. After a year away from school to gain residency, he enrolled in college. His love for nature and his desire to help others remained driving forces, but when it came to choosing a major, Hughey was unsure. The field of business intrigued him after seeing its ubiquity and how a diverse skill set can open doors. “It was a really great experience. Being in the heart of Silicon Valley, we had a lot of professors who were coming from industry and had a lot of real-world experience.” During his undergraduate years, his love of food and restaurants deepened as exposure to California’s agriculture opened his eyes to food systems and to seeing the art form he loves in a new light. “[Food] can not only be delicious but also be a major part of the solution when it comes to climate change and climate mitigation.”
Armed with this inspiration, Hughey co-founded a catering business during the final year of his undergrad program. Blending his business acumen with his passion allowed him to experience and learn from small-business entrepreneurship while exploring new angles of his love of restaurants.
Hughey took a final leap of faith, moving to Colorado. After embracing a ‘fork-in-the-road’ moment and following family, he chose to relocate to Denver, having never visited the city before. Luckily, he found his new home easy to love. He appreciated not only Colorado’s natural beauty but also the state’s willingness to lead in sustainability and business.
After 8 years in the same position, Hughey was ready to level up his career, but many of the jobs he was interested in required a master’s degree. Undaunted, he returned to academia. “I’ve always considered myself a continuous learner; this was just the next evolution in that process.” Hughey tailored his undergraduate degree to be as environmentally and people-focused as possible, so the Managing for Sustainability program at CU Denver Business School stood out to him.
Although unexpected pandemic-related challenges made networking difficult, Hughey still forged connections, including being appointed to the Sustainable Business Advisory Council. He also had other wins, such as maintaining a 4.0 GPA. “Going back as an older adult with more career experience, I approached school in a very different manner, and really understood ‘what I put in, I get out’.”
The blend of environmentalism and business is vitally important to Hughey. More than just green practices, he pursues sustainability holistically. “I think that sustainability is far more than just environmental practices; it’s building a holistic business model that looks at the triple bottom line- philosophy of people, planet, and profit, and finding a balance within those systems.” Ensuring that business practices sustain long-term viability, and adapting them if they can’t, is core to creating a sustainable business.
“The vast majority of business practices, in multiple industries, aren’t long-term sustainable. Whether that’s using finite resources, such as fossil fuels, or general business practices that trade short-term gains at the cost of long-term profitability and goals.” This problem faces many major U.S. cities, including Denver. To support the next generation of sustainable entrepreneurs and innovators, the Sustainable Business program created the Blair Gifford Mile High Sustainability Impact Challenge. Student teams have the opportunity to collaborate with community partners to design a project that will improve the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of downtown Denver over the next five years. Funds will be awarded to the winning teams. For students looking to enter the competition, Hughey has some advice: “More than anything, follow your passion. I think when we have passion, that’s what sparks innovation.” He also cautioned, “Make sure that you’re grounded in what’s achievable. I think finding the balance between passion and drive with what’s feasible is a really important balance to strike.”
Currently, Hughey is excited to work at Snooze. It’s a culmination of his passions, and he dropped everything when he saw the position was open. “I was actually on vacation in Chicago when I saw the job post and wasn’t really looking for a job at the time and literally bailed on my friends and went back to our Airbnb and spent the next 36 hours rewriting my resume and applying for the job.”
Between his grad program and working full-time, Hughey didn’t have much free time, so he is looking forward to delving back into his hobbies in the coming year. He’s excited for a slew of outdoor activities, including hiking, backpacking, and camping. His love of music has found a home in Denver, too. “I love going to shows, and Denver has such an amazing live music scene. I’m looking forward to getting back into that. Hughey was also recently accepted into the Downtown Denver Leadership Development Program and looks forward to helping the city of Denver continue to grow sustainably.
CU Denver Business School is proud of students like Hughey, changing the business landscape, locally and globally, and pursuing it as a force for good.
