Don Cravins Jr.
Donald R. Cravins Jr., is an American attorney and politician who served as the under secretary of commerce for minority business development from 2022 to 2024. He previously served as a member of the Louisiana State Legislature from 2004 to 2009. From April 2021 to August 2022, he was the executive vice president and COO of the National Urban League.
Early life and education
Cravins was born in Houston and raised in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Louisiana State University in 1994 and a Juris Doctor from the Southern University Law Center in 1998.Career
Louisiana legislature
Cravins first sought elected office in 2004. On November 2, 2004, he was elected state representative for District 40 in a runoff election where he received 54% of the vote. When he was elected, he and his father, Don Cravins, Sr., made Louisiana history by becoming the first father and son duo to serve in the Louisiana Legislature at the same time. In 2006, Cravins' father resigned from the Louisiana State Senate to become mayor of Opelousas. Cravins Jr. ran unopposed to fill the unexpired term. In the October 20, 2007 election, Don Cravins Jr. was re-elected to the Louisiana State Senate and garnered 74 percent of the vote. He represented Senate District 24 from December 2006 until January 2009. During his tenure in the Senate, Cravins served as chair of the Insurance Committee, vice chair of the Retirement Committee and as an active member of the Juvenile Justice Commission of Louisiana.2008 Congressional campaign
In the 2008 congressional elections, Cravins unsuccessfully ran as the Democratic candidate for Louisiana's 7th congressional district seat held by Republican U.S. Representative Charles Boustany. In addition to Boustany, Cravins faced Constitution Party candidate Peter Vidrine.Later career
In a letter dated January 4, 2009, Cravins announced his resignation as state senator to take a position as Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Cravins also served as chief of staff to United States Senator Mary Landrieu, a Democrat from New Orleans, from 2013 to 2015.In 2015, Cravins was named the deputy national political director for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. On July 7, 2015, he was named the National Urban League's senior vice president for policy and executive director of National Urban League Washington Bureau. In the roles, he was responsible for the Urban League Policy Institute, with primary responsibility for developing the League’s policy, research and advocacy agenda and expanding its impact and influence inside the beltway. He was also devoted to the League’s mission to empower communities through education and economic development.
In February 2019, Cravins left the National Urban League and became Vice President of Policy and External Affairs at Charter Communications, Inc. There he was responsible for building partnerships with external stakeholders to further shared policy objectives. Charter Communications is America’s second largest cable operator in the United States and third largest pay TV operator.
Cravins left Charter in May 2021 to rejoin the National Urban League as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. As one of the Nation’s preeminent Civil Rights Organizations, Mr. Cravins led the National Urban League’s entrepreneurial initiatives and spearheaded its corporate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion program.
Cravins was an adjunct professor at George Washington University, where he taught independent research in the College of Professional Studies and was an Instructor in the Graduate School of Political Management.