Christopher Crump graduated from NC State in 1978 with a BS in Computer Science. Before deciding to attend NC State, Crump attended a two-week summer program for minority high school seniors interested in engineering, which sparked his interest. The experience introduced Crump to his future professors as well as new technology being used in classrooms on campus. After beginning his education, Crump took advantage of the many opportunities NC State provided him. He worked as a Resident Advisor, a grader for the marketing department, and a representative at the help desk in Nelson and Burlington Halls. Today, Crump credits his professional to the hands-on experience he was exposed to that gave him confidence in himself and his work.After graduation, Crump headed to Silicon Valley to begin his professional career. work within the field. The allure of Silicon Valley and its reputation as “ground zero” for new and emerging technology brought Crump cross-country with a hope to see what the future of computer science holds. Crump worked with numerous companies within the field of computer science after graduation. He began working with Hewlett-Packard working in operating systems development. He then went on to work at Corvus Systems, an early local area networking company, where he worked on PC LAN applications. Then it was off to Pyramid, a leading edge Unix server lender. He started as a development engineer and eventually became the vice president of engineering. While at Pyramid, he started thinking outside of technology, about how people were using the products that he was helping to create.In 1994, the Internet was just taking off when Crump began working at Sun Microsystems as the Director of the Internet Products group called Netra. He was able to watch something as impactful as the Internet begin and flourish as well as a chance to meet all of the major players involved with starting the Internet. Four short years after, Crump began working at Brocade Communications Systems as director of software engineering. Here, he aided the management of all aspects of software engineering and monumentally helped the company grow from 100 to 1,200 employees in less than two years. Subsequently, Crump followed his entrepreneurial spirit and started his own business that focused on helping small companies. Most recently, Crump has worked as CEO of J Force Lending Inc. and Program Manager at Maui Imaging. Since 2009 Crump has remained an active member of Sand Hill Angels and Health Tech Capital, a group of successful Silicon Valley executives and accredited investors that are passionate about entrepreneurialism and the commercialization of disruptive new technologies. His membership mainly focuses on investments in the Internet, Information Technology, Clean Tech, Consumer, and Life Sciences businesses.In additional to his investment activities, Crump mentors a number of startup companies in the Bay Area and in the Research Triangle Park. He has also mentored and consulted for technology companies in Mexico and South Africa for their respective government. Crump’s extensive professional career is much like technology: exciting and dynamic. Crump has worn many hats since his graduation from NC State in 1978. He has worked as an entrepreneur, engineer, manager, mentor, investor and so much more. In the same way, he has watched technology change and develop to better the quickly growing field of computer science. Despite his passion and commitment to his work, Crump always finds the time to participate in ample community service. A devoted member of the Kiwanis, Chris has worked with high school students, painted nursery schools, worked at soup kitchens and food banks, and helped with raising funds for area projects. He has also kept close ties with the NC State community including being a member of the Advisory Board for the Entrepreneurship Initiative. He currently acts as a Management Consultant who is dedicated to the Initiative’s mission of furthering student entrepreneurship at NC State. Presently, he has dedicated his time being a Mentor for BUILD since 2006. His mentorship with BUILD allows him to dedicate several hours per week mentoring youth entrepreneurs on critical 21st century skills.