I've been through the wringer. Campbell grew up an ardent environmentalist, giving 4H Club and Chamber of Commerce speeches on water conservation and recycling. After years of technical courses as a young adult, she got her certification and entered the field as a contractor, doing first asbestos cleanup and later lead abatement, soil remediation, low-level nuclear waste cleanup and related jobs. Although she was president of the firm, she sometimes went out in the field herself, in a respirator suit, scraping asbestos off a wall. The hardest part was not gaining the expertise but getting a foothold in the industry of large, male-dominated corporations.
Big companies looking for subcontractors want someone with a proven background.
But some of the public agencies, like the gas and electric companies and the city and county of Los Angeles, gave the young woman her first opportunities. At that time, I didn't care. I was just ecstatic that I was given the opportunity to finally get my foot in the door. The political debate these past few years over affirmative action and Proposition 209 is a very personal matter for Campbell. Once she had a staff that peaked at 150, with crews working at up to 16 or 17 jobs at a time.