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Most recently, Campbell was elected president of the  (CASEM). In 2014, Campbell was inducted into the . She has held several roles supporting Canada’s Olympic athletes, and with FIFA, where she has worked at 15 World Cups as a FIFA medical officer and doping control officer or as the Canadian women’s team physician. She has also held the position of CMO or FIFA Chief Medical Officer and doping control officer at several tournaments. No other North American woman has held the CMO position for FIFA.

An unexpected career trajectory

Campbell graduated from Dal with a Bachelor of Physical Education in 1975, followed by a Master of Science in exercise physiology in 1977.

“To be honest, I had kind of a dysfunctional childhood. I went into phys ed because I’d won the 200 m track provincials so it made sense to me,” Campbell says. “I’d always been an average student until then, my sister and I lived in many different places and my studies were not my priority, but the phys ed program was so incredible—that’s why I give donations to Dal and have started a scholarship [the Dr. Cathy J. Campbell Track and Field Scholarships]—and I had incredible professors. It was the perfect situation for a misguided kid who needed a little direction.” She was also grateful for “Aunt Bee and Aunt Mary” who were senior citizens and distantly connected, who always helped out providing sage advice through large chunks of her life. And she says that her sister, who was four years older, was her guardian and her hero.

Having mentors segued into her becoming a mentor to others, and while at Dal, Campbell coached many kids and adults and became the head and volunteer coach for the Atlantic Track Club. One of the kids, Cecilia Branch, eventually made the 1980 Olympics but unfortunately it was the boycott year. Because of her coaching successes in Nova Scotia, Campbell received several scholarships related to coaching, enabling her to study and work with the 1976 Olympic coaching team under head coach Gerrard Mach. After graduating, Campbell took a job as a Sport Consultant with the Coaching Association of Canada in Ottawa.

Then, Campbell decided to follow in the footsteps of her sister and go into medicine, starting at McMaster University in 1980. Her career in sports and family medicine took her first to British Columbia, Connecticut, Texas, and ultimately back to Canada, but her willingness to seize any opportunity that excited her has taken her all over the world.

Of her new role as president of CASEM, Campbell says, “It is an incredible opportunity to be a leader in a professional career I’ve spent my life working for, and putting my own little slant on it.” This slant includes increasing membership engagement through introducing town halls and newsletters, and making the organization representative of Canada and its membership.

“One of the recent town hall guests was Dr. Tina Atkinson from Dartmouth (MD‘95), the team physician for the Olympic Canadian women’s hockey team, and I bring guests from B.C. and from across Canada onto the Town Hall to try and raise the profile of members across the country,” Campbell says, “I live in Ontario now, but as a Nova Scotian I know how important that representation is.”