Our Approach

Natalie Crawford brings more than two decades of business experience, public service, and issues advocacy to Georgia First. In her role as executive director, she helps advance economic opportunity and health outcomes for all Georgians while adhering to “old-school” Republican principles. This includes building strong faith-based and community coalitions, limiting government overreach, promoting fiscal responsibility, and advancing individual liberty.

An unapologetic moderate, Crawford is a native Georgian and lifelong Republican who served two terms on the Habersham County Commission, filling roles as vice-chair and chair. She held top leadership roles in the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, including as vice president of the Group Health Benefits Board of Trustees, and served on the Board of Managers. During her eight years in Habersham, Crawford is credited with helping save the local hospital, increasing county reserves, and leading economic expansion efforts with the creation of the Habersham Partnership for Growth and completed expansion projects for both the airport and a large industrial park.

Despite her significant accomplishments, Crawford lost her third-term election to a Republican challenger who decried her efforts to reach across the divide by engaging in bipartisan activities surrounding democracy defense and election integrity. Crawford’s historically strong positions on local control and unfunded state mandates, along with her belief that voting is the very bedrock of our democracy and it should be accessible, secure, and easy for every eligible voter, are the primary reasons for her bipartisan work in this area.

The overall tone of her final local campaign, combined with the continued rhetoric and hyper-partisan attitudes at both the state and national levels, are what bolstered Crawford’s desire to continue serving not just her community but the state of Georgia. That desire is what would ultimately lead her to form Georgia First and establish its cross-partisan executive board with equal Republican and Democratic representation along with one staunch Independent.

In addition to her public service, Crawford has extensive private sector experience in community banking and FinTech, nonprofit administration, and higher education. Currently, she is an investor and advisor to Gentreo, a full-service digital estate planning solution; president and founder of the Evie Peters Foundation, a non-profit serving breast cancer patients and survivors in Northeast Georgia; and adjunct professor at her alma mater Piedmont University. Crawford’s advocacy record also includes advancing efforts on health care, jobs and the economy, and good government.

Crawford completed both her BA and MBA at Piedmont. She was honored as one of the 2020 Georgia Trend Top 40 Under 40, competitively selected and completed Georgia Forward’s 2022 Young Gamechangers program, and was selected for the Conservative Leadership Policy Institute’s 2024 cohort. Crawford currently resides in Hall County with her family.