Candy Crespo

Candy Crespo is an adjunct professor in Corporate Communication and Public Affairs, the associate director of SMU’s Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility and a trustee for the St. Philip’s School and Community Center. With more than a decade of experience as a leader in higher education, she finds great joy in working with students and faculty to create powerful learning environments and developing meaningful programming and partnerships on behalf of the Maguire Ethics Center.

Before joining SMU, Crespo worked in public affairs and communications research at the Glover Park Group in Washington, D.C. There, she provided strategic public affairs support for clients and specialized in research-driven policy campaigns, opinion research and reputation branding. Her work experience also includes extensive non-profit management and communications at domestic and international non-governmental organizations including The Ormylia Center, Ormylia, Greece; The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, London, England; and The Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, New Mexico. Crespo worked for CNN as a focus group facilitator for their live coverage of the Presidential Debates and State of the Union Address.

Crespo holds a B.A. in corporate communication and public affairs and an M.Ed. in higher education policy and leadership from SMU. She completed the Harvard Graduate School of Education Management Development Program in 2018. She is a co-author and editor of the book Ethics at the Heart of Higher Education. Crespo is an avid equestrian and lives with her husband and daughter in Dallas.