Background
When Campbell was born in Santa Monica, California, to parents who had recently moved from Colorado, she was given the first name "Mary" in honor of her paternal grandmother.
When Campbell was born in Santa Monica, California, to parents who had recently moved from Colorado, she was given the first name "Mary" in honor of her paternal grandmother.
She was the eldest of four siblings. In 1977, Campbell received the degree of Juris Doctor from the University of California, Davis, School of Law, where she had been an editor of the University of California Davis Law Review. In 1978 Campbell founded the Community Law Center in Oakland, California, which she served for the next 18 years as its lead attorney.
She practiced family law and worked on the needs of the working poor of her county in Probate Court.
Between 1995 and 2000, Campbell was the General Director of her religious institute and oversaw its activities in the United States, Mexico, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Campbell was first recruited to lead in 2004 and continues to serve as its executive director
In March 2010, the United States Congress debated reforms to healthcare, known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Acting (H R 3590). As a part of her work with, Campbell wrote the "nuns" letter" supporting the reforms and asked leaders of women"s religious orders to sign lieutenant
The letter contributed to the momentum in favor of the legislation.
Campbell attended the signing ceremony for the law and received a hug of gratitude from President Obama. Campbell led the Nuns on the Business project, in which she also participated. Campbell and a small group of religious sisters (commonly, "nuns") make tours on a dedicated bus to highlight social issues.
In 2012, the first year of the project, the Nuns aimed to draw attention to nuns’ work with the poor and to protest planned aid cuts.
Campbell addressed the Democratic National Convention held in September 2012.
Sixty heads of religious orders and umbrella groups signed and the letter was sent to all members of Congress.