In 2010, Carol Craig founded the Danny Craig Foundation to raise and administer funds to help children with medical disorders live better lives.  Carol’s interest in helping children overcome health challenges began in 2001 when her first child, Danny, was born with the rare genetic disorder Prader-Willi Syndrome.  In 2002, Carol with help from other parents of children with Prader-Willi Syndrome, founded the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research (FPWR) with the mission to eliminate the challenges of PWS through the advancement of research, effectively committing over $1 Million to support PWS-related research to date.

A self-described Unconventional CEO, Carol is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Craig Technologies, headquartered in Cape Canaveral, FL.  Carol grew the business from her kitchen table with one person in 1999 to nearly 300 employees and $30M in revenues today.  Prior to her entrepreneurial pursuits, Carol served in the military as an active duty P-3C Orion Naval Flight Officer responsible for all tactical communication and navigation aboard combat aircraft.  An engineer by trade, Carol consulted for the military as a designer of cockpit systems, and created and provided instruction in flight planning software systems.

In June 2012, Carol negotiated and executed a Space Act Agreement with Kennedy Space Center for the loan of 1,600 pieces of specialty equipment once used to process NASA’s Space Shuttle and support systems, and will open the Craig Technologies Aerospace & Defense Manufacturing Center in 2013 to provide support to defense, aerospace, transportation, energy and other industries.

Carol holds a BA in Computer Science from Knox College, a BS in Computer Science Engineering from the University of Illinois and an MS in Electrical Computer Engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.  Carol is pursuing a Ph.D. in human-centered design at the Florida Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in industrial engineering at the University of Central Florida.

Carol’s success in business and in the community has earned her numerous accolades and awards including  the “Central Florida Humanitarian” in 2011 from the Central Florida Medicine Magazine, and the 2009 “Woman of Achievement,” granted by the March of Dimes Space Coast Division.

In her spare time, Carol enjoys traveling with her family, making music in her church, and attending Orlando Magic basketball games.