OLIVIA CAMPOS
Hometown: Mesa
Resides: Phoenix
Age: 30
Position/Organization: Director of Community Relations for the Arizona Coyotes

Arizona Rubber: As the director of community relations, what exactly do you do for the Coyotes?
Olivia Campos: My job is to coordinate the team’s day-to-day involvement with the community, the fans, schools, non-profit organizations and more. I work with the players on all their community and charitable activities, as well as our mascot, Howler, on attending various events. My department handles our in-school educational programming, volunteer programs, fan mail and many other community-based activities. I work with a team of three other Coyotes employees to make sure that the team maintains its great connections in the community.

AZR: How long have you been doing this, and what’s your professional and sports background?
OC: This is my third season with the Coyotes. My background is in event planning. I spent five years with the Arizona Biltmore Hotel as the catering sales manager, and I did some work with an organization teaching kids to read when I was in college. I always had an interest in community- and youth-focused work. I grew up playing sports, and found my way back to the sports world with this job.

AZR: What do you like about the job, and why do you think it’s important for the Coyotes to put a lot of effort into community relations?
OC: I love that I get to work with a lot of different organizations – from schools to non-profits – and I get to help create great moments and memories for a lot of people. There’s a lot of negativity in the world, and it’s refreshing to be able to be involved with such positive stories on a daily basis.

AZR: How do think the Coyotes are making a positive impact in Phoenix and beyond?
OC: Our players like to be involved in community efforts, and these guys know they have a lot of eyes on them and a lot of kids looking up to them. They’re showing people that no matter what your background, you can work hard, be a good person and make a positive difference in someone’s life. When you’re in a position to give back – whether it’s financially or with your time – it’s important to do so. Our hope is that promoting that positivity and attitude will encourage others to follow in those footsteps.

AZR: Are there any specific community programs that the team has taken on recently that you’re particularly proud of?
OC: We just launched our very first reading program. It focuses on kids in second to fourth grade, and we started with 150 classes mostly in metropolitan Phoenix. We’ve provided Coyotes-logoed items like bookmarks, pencil pouches, folders and lunchboxes. Each time a student reaches one of four different milestones set by the teachers, they’ll receive a Coyotes item. It encourages the kids in their reading and gives the teachers something extra to motivate their students. We’re really excited about the program, and it gives us a chance to reach approximately 4,000 students while promoting literacy efforts.

AZR: How do you decide which organizations to work with when there are so many worthy causes out there?
OC: If a big need in the community arises, we’re here to listen and offer a helping hand if we can. With the Coyotes having been here for such a long time, we have some great partners that we work with, but people will come to us with other opportunities as well. It can be a challenge trying to figure out where we can be the most help, because you only have so many hours in a day and so many assets as an organization.

AZR: How has the recent stability with the Coyotes franchise been a positive in your community efforts?
OC: It’s been great for us to have stable ownership that’s dedicated to our community programs. We wouldn’t have been able to do many of the things we’re doing now without such a supportive ownership group.

– Compiled by Greg Ball