Craig McKenzie

Craig McKenzie (born September 13, 1970 in Chicago, Illinois) is a sports, entertainment and marketing agent and a member of the Democratic party. McKenzie attended St.Ignatius College Preparatory in Chicago before attending Valparaiso University. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Political Science in 1992. He went on to graduate from Valparaiso School of Law in 1995. McKenzie started his practice in partnership with well-known sports attorney Eugene E. Parker of Maximum Sports Management. With Parker, McKenzie co-represented Deion Sanders and negotiated commercial contracts that lead Sanders to become second to Michael Jordan in endorsement earnings in 1996, according to Forbes Magazine. McKenzie now owns his own marketing and public relations firm, Higher Vision Sports Artist Marketing Group, where some of his clients are two-sport athlete and Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward; Marcus Brown, the highest paid American player in European basketball history, and Common, a conscious thinking hip hop/rap artist who has also transitioned into acting in feature films such as Smokin' Aces, American Gangster and Wanted. McKenzie in his support for 2008 Presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama directed Common to do a spread in conjunction with the American Library Association promoting Obama's book, "The Audacity of Hope". In 2008, Common did a public service announcements titled "Vote Hope 2008" in support of Obama and participated in the celebrity video, "Yes We Can". McKenzie later established the Political Action Commitee, www.yeswecanpac.org, which encourages its constitients to donate directly to campaigns. During the 2008 Presidential campaign, McKenzie has hosted fundraisers for Senator Obama and his firm has future marketing plans to influence the political environment in America.

Perry, Michael. "Agents court Xavier star", The Cincinnati Enquirer, 1999-05-03.

http://www.enquirer.com/xavier/1999/05/03/xu_agents_court_xavier.html

Concordia University Wisconsin: Craig McKenzie

http://www.cuw.edu/AdultEd_Graduate/corporate/cmckenzie.html

Roberts, Selena. "Ward May Test Waters", The New York Times, 1999-01-18.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D03E5D71730F93BA25752C0A96F958260

http://commongroundfoundation.org/news3.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1dc6KcGeQw.

http://www.votehope2008.org/

http://www.yeswecanpac.org