Fighting domestic violence and child abuse has long been an important issue for Daniel Campos.
An investment associate in RBC Wealth Management’s Washington, D.C. office, Campos felt so strongly about protecting his community from those concerns that he ran for state delegate in Maryland’s 17th District in 2010 on the premise that something needed to be done.
During his campaign, Campos was recognized for his strong stance against domestic violence, and was even endorsed by The Washington Post for his position on the issue. He ultimately finished fourth in the general election, but in the process made a lasting relationship with Eileen King, director of nonprofit Child Justice Inc., which provides assistance to domestic abuse victims in Maryland. King later asked Campos to get involved with the organization in 2013 because of his passion for the issue, and he quickly became an important ally in Child Justice’s ongoing fight against domestic abuse.
Today, Campos serves as a board member of the nonprofit Child Justice, Inc. The difference he’s made in that role is wide-reaching.
“Having witnessed how family members and friends have dealt with domestic violence, it was just a natural fit,” Campos says of joining the nonprofit.
Child Justice provides legal and advocacy services for an underserved population of domestic abuse victims in Maryland. The nonprofit offers affordable protective options to guardians and victims needing to safeguard both themselves and their children from an abusive parent.
Child custody cases in the context of domestic abuse are often extremely challenging for parents with limited or no financial resources. The parents also face steep legal challenges in the litigation process when seeking protection for themselves and their children.
“Not being an attorney, there is only so much you can do,” Campos says. “But when you hear about some of the difficult cases we have worked with, and having had the opportunity to meet some of the children who have benefitted from our services, it’s pretty amazing.”
“Seeing that is just really neat, and I’m glad to be a part of it,” he adds.
Even though, as he points out, Campos is not an attorney, he has found several ways to get involved with Child Justice and assist attorneys in their mission.
In addition to securing government grants and networking on behalf of the nonprofit, Campos spent countless hours over a period of several months in 2016 rewriting the copy for Child Justice’s website in order to build awareness, offer a method of contact, publish precedent-setting court decisions and connect with people outside the organization with similar goals. He also brought in a friend to code the website in order to make Child Justice’s online presence more aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly.
“Dan was instrumental in having the website built,” King says. “That was huge. The website is a primary vehicle for getting information out and explaining what it is that we do. You can’t overstate how important Dan’s work was in getting this thing up and running and making it attractive to prospective clients.”
Campos’s tireless work ethic and ability to network in the surrounding area played an important role in Child Justice’s accomplishments in 2017, when the organization accepted 20 new cases, litigated 67 active cases and provided expert advice to 220 people.
Campos provides the assistance that attorneys at Child Justice need so they can focus on their cases and combat domestic abuse. And though it may seem like a small thing, says Paul Griffin, legal director of Child Justice, he does it with a positive attitude and warm personality.
“His warm and personal approach is very important in this line of business,” Griffin says. “Positive energy is important in a line of work than can often be emotionally draining.”
Daniel Campos and First Lady of Maryland Yumi Hogan at Heroes of Child Justice 2018. (Photo credit: Richard Lippenholz)
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