Ambassador Profile: Carol Campbell

Introducing Carol Campbell as SAME SKY's Ambassador of the Month! We spoke with Carol about working with women getting out of prison, the importance of female confidence, and the SAME SKY artisans as role models for women everywhere. Carol is pictured above middle at SAME SKY's recent Ambassador meeting in Southampton, NY. 

What drew you to SAME SKY? What makes SAME SKY unique or stand out from other organizations?

Empowering women is what SAME SKY is all about and that’s the basic tenant that drew me to the organization.  The fair trade jewelry initiative behind SAME SKY offers training and employment to women living with HIV/AIDS in Africa and allows them to empower themselves to rise out of poverty.  It’s not just a hand out.  And this model can expand to empower women all over the world to help themselves.  That makes it different from other organizations (not the mention the beautiful jewelry!)

How does SAME SKY's mission reflect your own interests and goals?

As a  woman who’s been blessed with many things, I’ve never taken anything for granted – personally or professionally.  And  empowering women from all walks of life to be the best they can be is something that’s always motivated me.  In the past, I’ve done career counseling for women coming out of prison – teaching them how to write resumes addressing their prison time, to dress appropriately for an interview, to say thank you, to follow up, etc.  These are basic things to me (not the prison part, thankfully!) that were not so basic to these other women.  And it really made a difference to them.  I had one woman say to me:  “Ms. Campbell, I really think that I can go on an interview and be confident now.  I’m not as nervous.  Thank you!”

What does women’s empowerment mean to you? Does women's empowerment play a role in your everyday life?

As a female executive in the media world that used to be male dominated (just think “Mad Men”), I’m lucky enough to be in an industry that really does not discriminate men vs. women today.  However, that was not always the case.  So,  ensuring women feel confident enough to express themselves articulately is very important.  Knowledge and training is a big part of the confidence that allows women in every walk of life to express themselves.  This applies to women living with HIV/AIDS in Africa who are trained to make SAME SKY jewelry as well as a “typical” women in America.

Do you have a message for the artisans? Do you have a message for our customers?

My message for the artisans is this…keep up the great work!  What you’re doing sends a universal message – that by educating and training yourselves, you become empowered to overcome financial and personal obstacles which make you role models to ALL women.   My message for  the customers?  SAME SKY jewelry is gorgeous, affordable and truly unique.  And it benefits a cause that is so worthwhile, you should support it by buying lots of the jewelry and seeing what you can do to help the general cause.  It does not take much personal effort to make a big difference in other women’s lives – that’s the bottom line.  It could be buying a bracelet.  It could be hosting a SAME SKY jewelry party for your friends.  It could be donating to the general SAME SKY organization – anything and everything makes a difference.