Crystal Alvarez

Crystal Alvarez is a skilled digital marketing and strategic communications professional with a proven track-record of leading campaigns and people to drive results and impact. Inspired by her Mexican abuelita, who always carried a bulky VHS camcorder, Alvarez picked up a digital camera at 12 years old and never looked back. Fast-forward to 2026, and she gets the privilege of teaching students the foundations of digital marketing and to develop compelling campaigns. 

Alvarez currently leads teaching and course development for courses within the digital audience series at the Cronkite School. Her expertise aligns with her teaching and includes topics such as audience engagement, data analytics, social media strategy and content creation.

She also leads the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation team in the award-winning Cronkite Agency. This team tackles health disparities within the Latinx and Hispanic communities by developing bilingual and culturally relevant communications campaigns. Past community partners of successful health campaigns include Chicanos Por La Causa, Saint Vincent De Paul and the College of Health Solutions. This project is part of the RWJF Southwest Health Reporting and Communications Initiative, a multi-year, $1.3 million grant aimed at improving health disparities in the Southwest and is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Previously, she led digital strategy and leadership development for her company, Jefa Legacy, which focuses on empowering Latinx leaders and underrepresented groups. Other notable campaigns include Local First Arizona, RIESTER Advertising, Phoenix Children's Hospital Foundation and Arizona PBS. To date, one of her most cherished projects is contributing to amplifying #DTPHX and solidifying Roosevelt Row as a thriving arts district. 

Alvarez is a proud "Double Devil" with a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication and M.S. in Digital Audience Strategy. She is a graduate of the Hispanic Leadership Institute and served on the Arizona Supreme Court Communications Task Force.

In her free time, she loves to play indoor soccer, test new media + tech, eat hole-in-the-wall local food and drink (#ShopLocal), and cook delicious Mexican food.