Meet 3Points Analyst Chris Crisanti
If you’ve been following our social media channels, you know that Fabiola Camacho isn’t the only new team member we added this summer — Brookfield’s own Chris Crisanti joined us as an analyst as well. Chris (aka ChrisCris, aka CryptoChris) is a graduate of the University of Dayton, and received his Master’s of Public Administration from Northeastern University earlier this year. He’s taken on a variety of internal and external tasks for us, and has recently started on a third-party project we hope to announce publicly soon — get to know him a little better via the Q&A below.
What initially interested you about 3Points and working in public relations?
I’ve had a communications background since entering the University of Dayton as a declared journalism major in the fall of 2011. While at UD, I wrote for the student newspaper, The Flyer News, and was a part of Phi Beta Chi, a professional honors fraternity. So while my major eventually changed to political science, I still maintained an interest, and I completed minors in communications and journalism.
I stumbled across 3Points Communications as a final year grad student at Northeastern University trying to discern my future. I knew I wanted to return home to Chicago from Boston and work for a smaller firm with the potential to grow, as I knew that would help me grow myself. Further, I wanted to work in an environment where co-workers treat each other not only as friends, but as family. This was extremely important when I was looking for a workplace and a role that I could see myself truly enjoying and being excited to get up and go to work in the morning.
3Points originally piqued my interest because of its connection to the fintech industry. Due to my background in public policy and economics, I was primarily interested in the different aspects of fintech, such as its impact on banking and economic mobility. I wanted to pursue work in that area in some capacity while also seeking my ideal company size and work atmosphere. 3Points fit that mold perfectly. Plus, I also get the chance to strengthen my writing and grammatical skills by writing blogs and case studies pertaining to the industry.
What has been your favorite project or memory at 3Points so far?
Aside from taking the office’s Super Smash Bros crown [Editor’s Note: we’re deeply sorry that we do not have video from the epic N64 showdown], I always enjoy our company outings. One in particular I really enjoyed was the Chicago architecture boat tour we took at the end of our summer intern’s stint in the office. I recommend it to anyone, even locals like myself. It gives a very informative and historical account of this city’s architectural background and is really interesting.
One project I particularly always enjoy working on is our monthly time tracking report, where we track time spent on client (and internal) projects from the previous month and analyze that data. Our goal with that is to find insights and use that information to help enhance company efficiency. This gives me a good overview of our company’s operations and helps me build upon my analytical skills.
What type of coursework does a Master’s of Public Administration entail? And how does that translate into the work you’re doing now?
A Master’s of Public Administration degree (MPA) is a business degree for the public sector. Although coursework can vary depending on the cohort’s field of work, an MPA student’s core curriculum involves budgeting and financial management, economic analysis, statistics, organizational management, policy analysis, ethics, and principles of decision making. I paired my degree with a certificate in Informatics, so the bulk of my course load was quantitative and data-oriented in addition to those core classes.
You recently wrote an explainer on cryptocurrency for our blog — where do you personally see cryptocurrency going in the next five years?
The success or failure of cryptocurrency will ultimately depend on its utilization moving forward. The point of cryptocurrency is to eventually replace paper money, ushering in a new form of the monetary system. This depends on people not only buying coins, but buying into the concept as well. Right now, my hunch is that people are focused on the stock price and not on the commodity itself. This becomes a problem because there is a trust factor. Currencies only work because we give them utility and value based on our trust. Because cryptocurrency is such a fairly recent concept that requires many technological components in order for it to work, your average Joe may be skeptical of the innovation and will ultimately choose to forego actually using it. Even the CEOs of banks are skeptical of its future.
You’re a proud Brookfield native — apart from the famous Brookfield Zoo, what else do you recommend for visitors to do in your hometown?
Irish Times has been recognized as one of the best Irish Pubs in the state, let alone Chicagoland. They have the best shepherd’s pie in the game and it’s a great place to hold an event and connect with friends. The Brookfield Ale House is fairly new, but has a wide and eclectic selection of beverages to choose from and a chill atmosphere. Paisans Pizza is a top destination for pizza and food. They just renovated their restaurant and encourage residents and visitors to check it out. Upon porking out, a stroll through Kiwanis Park may do just the trick for getting some exercise in.
