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Madison Pulford Campbell (born October 26, 1995) is an American businesswoman and entrepreneur. She is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Leda Health.

Early life and education

Madison Campbell was born in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania in 1995. She grew up in a conservative Catholic family in a suburb of Pittsburgh.

Campbell's initial foray into the performing arts was in musical theater, which she pursued at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School. However, a lisp, considered a hindrance for auditions, prompted her to switch to dance. This pursuit was cut short due to a diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome, a nerve disorder that impeded her ability to perform. Following her diagnosis, Campbell decided to major in public health and epidemiology at Hampshire College, aspiring to earn a Ph.D. in epidemiology and work at NASA. During her last semester, she was in an abusive relationship, felt her career plans derailed by NASA budget cuts, and ended up dropping out.

While at Hampshire College, Campbell established a Young Americans for Liberty chapter. She interned at the Charles Koch Institute and Senator Rand Paul's PAC.

Career

Prior to co-founding Leda, Campbell founded Iyanu in 2018, a company designed to address the equity gap in Nigeria by connecting individuals to jobs in the United States.

In 2019, Campbell founded MeToo Kits, later rebranded as Leda Health after the mythic Greek queen, Leda. Her decision to start Leda Health was driven by her own experience as a survivor of sexual assault, stating she sought to help others face challenges in collecting evidence and seeking justice. The company developed an "early evidence kit" in close collaboration with medical and law-enforcement personnel, using blockchain to encrypt data. This data, attached to a specific user account, allows sexual assault survivors to collect evidence without the need to visit a hospital or police station. The company introduced an at-home alternative to standard hospital rape kits, allowing assault survivors to collect DNA evidence themselves in last-resort situations. Collaborating with DNA Labs International, these early evidence kits can be tested in under 48 hours. The kits are available in Florida. Three years afterward, Leda Health expanded its services to include Plan B, STI testing, and raised $7 million in funding. In 2022, Leda Health was included in Fortune's Change the World list.

Awards and recognition

• Forbes' 30 Under 30
• CES Award
• Maverick's 40u40

References

1. Goldsmith, Annie (23 December 2021). "A Startup Founder Moved to Las Vegas for the Weather, Then Developed Political Ambitions". The Information.
2. ^ Funk, Harry (September 15, 2023). "As Miss Pittsburgh, Bridgeville native promotes advocacy for survivors of assault". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
3. ^ Chapin, Angelina; Heaney, Katie (February 23, 2023). "'Call Me a Scammer to My Face'". The Cut.
4. "A world without evidence with Madison Campbell". Annenberg Media. March 6, 2021.
5. "性暴力のリアル──「DIYレイプキット」をめぐる議論から私たちが学ぶこと。". Vogue Japan. May 11, 2020.
6. "How Health Tech Entrepreneur Madison Campbell Used 2nd-Order Thinking to Carve a Path for Leda Health". www.beondeck.com.
7. "Finance: The harsh realities for women, and survivors, in venture capital". The Edge Malaysia.
8. ""We Help Survivors of Sexual Assaults" – Interview with "Leda Health" co-founders". Kyiv Post.
9. Nashrulla, Tasneem (September 12, 2019). "The 23-Year-Old "MeToo" DIY Rape Kit Founder Says She'll Fight Law Enforcement's Demands That She Stop Advertising". BuzzFeed News.
10. Shamus, Kristen Jordan. "MeToo Kit CEO says Mich. AG has it all wrong. She didn't want to profit from rape victims". Detroit Free Press.
11. ^ Williamson, Alex (September 5, 2019). "DIY rape kit startup's 23-year-old founder says she is a sexual assault survivor". Brooklyn Eagle.
12. "Founder of 'MeToo' sexual assault evidence kit speaks out". WXMI. September 6, 2019.
13. ^ MacColl, Margaux. "Sexual-assault scenarios. Questions about used condoms. Two female founders share their ugliest moments when pitching VCs for their controversial rape-kit startup". Business Insider.
14. ^ Cuen, Leigh (May 4, 2021). "Radical Ethereum entrepreneurs are redefining what 'rape kit' means". TechCrunch.
15. "Leda Health offers fast, discreet DNA collection kits to sexual assault survivors". August 18, 2021.
16. ^ "Leda Health". Forbes.
17. "Leda Health | 2022 Change the World". Fortune.
18. "Innovation Award Honorees". www.ces.tech.
19. "Future40". Maverick PAC.

• 1995 births
• Living people
• American businesspeople
• American company founders
• Hampshire College alumni