During his time at Trinity, Craig was a chapel prefect and involved in choir, speech and debate, and student council. He was on Trinity School’s very first Upper School football and golf teams.  He graduated from Trinity School in 1995 and followed a family tradition by attending Baylor University. After pursuing three different areas of study, he moved to Austin and began working at the State Capitol. After working in the Senate during the 2003-2004 interim, he went to work for the public policy devision at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld in Austin for the 2005 legislative session.  After serving three years in the Capitol he became a licensed realtor and worked for several years in the Austin area.

     Craig decided to return to West Texas where he began his new career in the fast-paced world of communications with AT&T. It was during this time that he was called upon by now District Judge Sara Kate Billingsley to volunteer with a local nonprofit called Food 2 Kids West Texas. He loved the organization so much he joined the board, and eventually became the organization’s first, and last, Executive Director. His work cemented the sustainability of the vital services Food 2 Kids provides through a merger of the Food 2 Kids organization into the West Texas Food Bank. After the merger, Craig oversaw the Food 2 Kids program and started managing the social media accounts of the Food Bank. Eventually he became the Director of Communications at the West Texas Food Bank, where he was responsible for managing and implementing all of the marketing and communication strategies. His leadership brought substantial increases in the organization’s publicity and awareness in and outside of the Permian Basin.  

     In 2022, Craig was took on a new challenge as the Executive Director of Meals on Wheels of Odessa (MOWO). Under his leadership the organization has doubled the number of clients it serves, it has increased its service area to include the entire city limits of the City of Odessa and most of West Odessa. MOWO has also expanded to serve further north and south into Ector County, and is working on partnerships to establish delivery drop spots in Gardendale and Goldsmith which will allow volunteers to serve these outlying areas of Ector County without having to come to the MOWO Volunteer Center first. Craig also oversaw a complete overhaul of the organizations financial policies which has left MOWO fiscally stronger and with the ability to approach local foundations to begin receiving grant funding to support growth and operations. His work has been recognized this year with four nominations for Beacon awards from the Nonprofit Management Center, including Excellence in Organizational Leadership. 

      Another example of his leadership and ability to recognize an obvious partnership is showcased by the partnership formed between Ector County and Meals on Wheels of Odessa to lower the cost of the meals served at the local Senior Centers. Craig was attending a commissioners court meeting where the director of the Senior Centers was asking for a budget adjustment to increase each meal from $9 to $12. Within a week a new partnership was formed for MOWO to provide the meals to the Senior Centers for $9 for the rest of the budget cycle, and then lower the cost to $6 for the next fiscal year. 

      Craig is very proud of his hometown and works hard to advocate for local businesses within the community. Although now dormant, one example of this was his creation of Permian Basin Restaurant Week, which worked to drive business to local restaurants in benefit of the West Texas Food Bank. For many years PBRW was a great way to introduce people to local restaurants they may not have tried yet, unfortunately as with many nonprofit fundraisers, the pandemic brought it to an end. 

      Currently Craig serves on the Ector County Library Advisory Board, is the Chairman of the Downtown Odessa, Inc. Board of Directors, a member of the board of the Ellen Noël Art Museum, and is a commissioner on the City of Odessa Planning and Zoning Commission. He is a former member of the board for the Odessa Crystal Ball Foundation, served as president for the Play Committee for Downtown Odessa, Inc., served on the planning committees for the Permian Playhouse Divas and Desserts, Empty Bowls, and the H-E-B Feast of Sharing fundraisers. He also served on the Housing, Quality of Place, and Communications committees for Priority Midland.

     Craig’s work landed him multiple awards including the TrueSense Marketing ShareFULL award two years in a row for his work with the West Texas Food Bank. He was honored as an Odessa Young Professional Under 40, Downtown Odessa Volunteer of the Year, and received the Nonprofit Management Center’s Beacon Award for Excellence in Communication. This fall he is being honored by the Association of Fundraising Professionals of the Permian Basin with the Outstanding Professional Fundraiser award. 

     In his free time, Craig enjoys volunteering and mentoring others in nonprofits.  He loves sharing his knowledge of nonprofits with others and is currently working with several other start up organizations. He enjoys traveling and spending time at his family’s ranch in Coleman. He also spends plenty of time in Austin with his darling goddaughter, Addy, who will be a first grader at the University of Texas Elementary School in the fall. Also an avid foodie, he’s always willing to share a great restaurant recommendation no matter where you are. He’s got a scientifically backed restaurant picking system, that rarely fails! 

      “I truly feel it is a rare privilege to be able to represent the community as an elected official. I can’t say my entire adult career has been about service, but when I truly came to understand what a mentor during my Capitol years taught me, to find my passions, that is when I caught my stride, and believe I found my calling. Giving back to others, especially those who cannot do for themselves, is commanded of us from a favorite passage, Matthew 25:35-40. I also have a great fondness for the words of Luke 12:48, ‘to whom much is given, much will be required.’ I fully believe these words and do my best to live them every day as an example to others. I am asking you to join me on this journey and start the healing of Odessa. Together we will put in the hard work necessary to get the cart out of the ditch, and hopefully be able to leave Odessa better than we found her. We live in an amazing place full of great people and we know the meaning of hard work. I know we can do this together.” Craig Stoker