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- by  Abby Weingarten
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A lifelong community organizer and changemaker, Stacey Campo, Ph.D. joined New College on August 3 as the first director of community outreach in the newly-created Office of Outreach and Inclusive Excellence.
“My role at New College is about creating more porous boundaries between the Sarasota community and New College,” said Campo, who recently relocated from the Bronx, New York, to the Sarasota area (where her parents live). “It has been a very delicate conversation, how the school is engaging with the community. And I was so excited that New College was really prioritizing that work—creating the opportunity for students to expand.”
Creating opportunities for students has been one of Campo’s career passions. She brings with her 17 years of experience with Children’s Aid of New York City—most recently as deputy director and director of special projects. Campo has had extensive academic experience as a faculty member and researcher, in addition to her hands-on community programming and service delivery work.
Her expertise in grants management, administrative leadership and designing new initiatives perfectly prepares her for the range of responsibilities in her new role, namely as the project lead for the Mellon II “New College and the Cross College Alliance (CCA) in the Community” grant.
“I’ll be partnering with different offices to speak about how we’re recruiting students from the Sarasota area (high schools, especially), and working to recruit a more diverse student population,” Campo said. “I’ll also be working with faculty to partner with organizations on community engagement.”
Campo will be collaborating directly with Bill Woodson, Ph.D., New College’s chief diversity officer; as well as with staff members at the New College Foundation, the Provost’s Office, Student Affairs (particularly the office of Student Activities and Campus Engagement (SA[u]CE), and the Center for Career Engagement and Opportunity (CEO).
“I’ll be working with the CCA and creating opportunities for collaborations, to improve the on-campus experience for students, and to help with retention,” Campo said. “Bill is excited because this has been kind of a one-man show so far.”
Campo holds a Ph.D. in urban education​, ​educational policy and leadership from the City University of New York (CUNY); a master’s in social work degree from Columbia University; and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology from the State University of New York College (SUNY) at Geneseo.
She was a managing partner for the Learning Solutions Collaborative in the Bronx, where she developed a technical assistance to charter and public schools to cultivate culturally responsive pedagogy. As a social worker, she offered group and family counseling sessions to students in community schools, and created specialized programming for students with special needs.
“I’m a big believer in giving opportunities to young people to express their passions; there’s so much brilliance in young people,” Campo said. “And I love working with college students because of their energy, openness and idealism and willingness to learn. College-age folks are the ones who are ready to make all the changes in the world.”
Abby Weingarten is the editor/writer in the Office of Communications & Marketing.