LATIN TIMES MAGAZINE - 2019 Summer Edition | Page 25

Latina
Leadership
Latina
Lideres Awards
Awards
in media
Lissette Campos
2019 Latina Mover N Shaker
by: Jolie Gonzalez-Padilla
Lissette Campos is a 7time Emmy award winning
journalist and writer...she is a public speaker...
telling the stories that inspire and empower.
This is part of her story….
LTM: Tell us about where you were born and raised and where your
family is from
Lissette Campos: I was born in Long Island, NY. I’m the first in my
family born in the USA. My parents were born in Cuba. Mom left Cuba
in September 1961, two days after her 19th birthday. Mom’s name is
Miriam. She thought she would be leaving Cuba with her mom and
little sister. Instead, Cuban soldiers refused to allow my grandmother to
board the flight after confiscating all the jewelry they were wearing and
taking their suitcases. My Dad, Sergio, arrived in the U.S. a few weeks
later, alone. He was 18 years old. My grandparents were not allowed to
leave the country with dad, their only son.
It would be YEARS before they were reunited! Mom and Dad fell in
love and married in NY. Six years later, I was born! We moved to Flor-
ida when I was five years old because Dad couldn’t take another winter
in NY! Over the years, the shared their stories of trouble and triumph,
the kindness of strangers, and overcoming obstacles! I can honestly say
that my love of storytelling can be traced back to those stories! I grew up
on them and asked for them again and again, at the dinner table.
LTM: Tell me about what you do for a living.
Lissette Campos: I’ve been a journalist and communications profes-
sional for 30 years. I started in local television news when I was just
20 years old. I wasn’t old enough to get into nightclubs in Miami but
you’d find me at crime scenes chasing down stories! I was the youngest,
and most of the time the shortest, reporter on the night beat! Fast for-
ward to 2019, I’m not a reporter or news anchor anymore. I’m a story
teller, public speaker, community relations expert, corporate communi-
cations professional, an advocate for domestic violence awareness and
a champion for local non – profits! Like a big ol’ cup of café con leche,
I’m a blend of all these things! The last ten years of my career, producing
and hosting “Positively Tampa Bay” at ABC Action News, taught me
the power of storytelling! The more I worked with community groups
and businesses engaged in community service projects, the more ev-
ery day heroes I discovered. Telling their stories and inspiring others to
get involved was my “lightbulb” moment! I could use my passion for
storytelling to effect change, positive change, in my community! I was
hooked! I want more of that and it’s what drives me as I contemplate my
next career move.
LTM: Tell me about what organizations you are a part of
Lissette Campos: I’m involved with Working Women of Tampa Bay,
Girl Scouts of West Central Florida, Hands Across the Bay, Feeding
Tampa Bay and the Ybor City Museum Society. I currently sit on two
community advisory boards – at WEDU Public Broadcasting Station
serving west central Florida and at the Junior League of Tampa. Each
September and October, I volunteer with The Spring of Tampa Bay,
CASA St. Petersburg, Sunrise of Pasco – all state certified domestic vio-
lence centers in our community.
LTM: Tell us about the biggest highlights of your career.
L atin T imes M agazine
Lissette Campos: I’ve been blessed with amazing experiences over the
years. Hands down, are the stories behind the 7 Emmy Awards sitting
on my shelf, the Silver Circle Award by the National Academy of Tele-
vision Arts & Sciences Suncoast Chapter, and the Service to America
award by the National Association of Broadcasters.
There was the undercover reporting I did in Moscow, following the
journey of Cubans living there in hiding, overstaying their Cuban visas
to study in Soviet universities. I travelled there alone, worked with a
freelance photographer in Moscow. I was terrified. Every time Moscow
police were in the vicinity, the Cubans would disappear into the crowd,
leaving me to fend for myself.
The undercover reporting in Havana Cuba was another surreal experi-
ence. My TV station sent me and a photographer to Havana on a tourist
visa. Our earlier request for a press visa was denied and we needed to get
in to see what was going on after the shoot down of two civilian planes
over international waters. Everyone onboard, all Cuban exiles flying
with “Brothers to the Rescue”, were killed. The shoot down was the talk
of the island. Everywhere we went, Cuban men and women talked to
us about it. Our hand-held camera, in plain view, did not bother them
or keep them from talking to us. By the time we left, 5 days later, we
had caught the attention of hotel security and police who had started to
“tail” us to see what we were up to. On the day we left, we hid our notes
and video tapes in our jeans and under-garments to avoid confiscation.
The domestic violence awareness campaign started out as an assign-
ment for me. It was my first big project of the new job as community
affairs director at ABC Action News in the fall of 2008. I knew nothing
about domestic violence and was unprepared for the life-changing ex-
perience that lay ahead. Every interview with survivors, local advocates
at the domestic violence centers and first responders made an indelible
mark on my heart. A year into the dv awareness project, it became a
calling. I volunteer with local DV centers, do public speaking and pub-
lic appearances to help year- round.
LTM: What did I miss? Tell me something you want us to know!
Lissette Campos: Faith has taught me that my most IMPORTANT
accomplishments don’t happen at the office. They happen at home. My
husband Angel and I believe our MOST important work is raising our
daughters, Sophie and Audrey. Parenthood is the highest calling of
all. No amount Emmys will ever hold a candle to Sophie and Audrey.
Being their mom is, hands down, the most precious part of my life.
Read more at: www.LatinTimesMedia.com
www .L atin T imes M agazine . com
A braza el calor de tu cultura !
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