- In recognition of her outstanding work as a civic leader, public administrator, and civil rights activist, Melanie L. Campbell was presented the Althea T. L. Simmons Social Action Award during Delta Sigma Theta Sorority’s 49th National Convention held recently in Orlando, Florida.
The award was presented by Dr. Louise A. Rice, national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and Marcia L. Fudge, Esq., co-chair of the sorority’s Social Action Commission.
“I never had the opportunity to meet Althea Simmons, but I am aware of her great accomplishments, especially lobbying for the extension of the Voting Rights Act,” said Campbell, executive director and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (www.ncbcp.org). “I am honored to accept this award from my sorors and hope that I live up to the example set by Ms. Simmons and others whose shoulders I stand on.”
A sisterhood of more than 200,000 predominately Black college educated women, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, is a private, non-profit organization whose purpose is to provide assistance and support through established programs in local communities throughout the world.
With over 20 years of experience, Campbell is a nationally recognized expert in black voter participation, election reform, and voting rights. She spearheaded the creation of the successful Unity Voter Empowerment Campaign, and founded an innovative, youth-focused leadership development program, Black Youth Vote!, for which she received the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Emerging Leaders Legacy Award (‘03).
Certified in non-profit management by the Georgetown University Public Policy Institute Executive Program, the Clark University graduate was in the first class of the Progressive Women’s Voices at the Women’s Media Center, and served as a resident fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Institute of Politics at Harvard University.
Campbell has published numerous articles on civic participation. Most recently, she contributed to Opportunity Journal magazine, the National Urban League’s scholarly journal. She is a contributing writer in the 2006 Harvard University Journal on African Americans in Public Policy, and has been a guest expert on radio and television shows including CNN News, Washington Journal, and The Bev Smith Show.
A proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Campbell serves on the board of the Black Leadership Forum and is also a member of SCLC W.O.M.E.N., NAACP, NCNW, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and the National Association of Female Executives.
