Madison Pulford Campbell (born October 26, 1995) is an American

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

and

businesswoman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

who is the founder and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

(CEO) of

Leda Health Leda Health, formerly known as MeToo Kits, is an American company founded in 2019 with its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Leda Health aimed at providing early-evidence kits for Genetic testing, DNA and other services for sexual assault ...

since 2019.

Early life and education

Madison Campbell was born in

Bridgeville, Pennsylvania Bridgeville is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,804 at the 2020 census. It is a residential suburb of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. History The village that eventually became Bridgeville acqui ...

in 1995. She grew up in a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

family in a suburb of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. Campbell's initial foray into the

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

was in

musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, moveme ...

, which she pursued at

Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School The Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School is a tuition-free, American public charter school that is located in Midland, Pennsylvania, roughly thirty-five miles (56 km) northwest of Pittsburgh. It enrolls students in grades seven throu ...

. However, a

lisp Lisp (historically LISP, an abbreviation of "list processing") is a family of programming languages with a long history and a distinctive, fully parenthesized Polish notation#Explanation, prefix notation. Originally specified in the late 1950s, ...

, considered a hindrance for

audition An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece gi ...

s, prompted her to switch to

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

. This pursuit was cut short due to a

diagnosis Diagnosis (: diagnoses) is the identification of the nature and cause of a certain phenomenon. Diagnosis is used in a lot of different academic discipline, disciplines, with variations in the use of logic, analytics, and experience, to determine " ...

thoracic outlet syndrome Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is a condition in which there is compression of the nerves, arteries, or veins in the superior thoracic aperture, the passageway from the lower neck to the armpit, also known as the thoracic outlet. There are t ...

, a nerve disorder that impeded her ability to perform. Following her diagnosis, Campbell decided to major in

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

and

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and Risk factor (epidemiology), determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent dise ...

Hampshire College Hampshire College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges ...

, aspiring to earn a Ph.D. in

and work at

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

. 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

, Campbell established a

Young Americans for Liberty Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) is a Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian student activism organization headquartered in Austin, Texas. Formed in 2008 in the aftermath of the Ron Paul 2008 presidential campaign, YAL establishes ch ...

chapter. She

intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...

ed at the

Charles Koch Institute The Charles Koch Institute is a Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian-oriented public policy research, programming, grant-making, and fellow, fellowship-funding organization based in Virginia. Named after Charles Koch, its founder and ...

and Senator

Rand Paul Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Kentucky since 2011. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

PAC Pac or PAC may refer to: Aviation * IATA code PAC Albrook "Marcos A. Gelabert" International Airport in Panama City, Panama * Pacific Aerospace Corporation, New Zealand, manufacturer of aircraft: ** PAC 750XL ** PAC Cresco ** PAC CT/4 ** PA ...

Career

Prior to co-founding Leda, Campbell founded Iyanu in 2018, a company designed to address the equity gap in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

by connecting individuals to jobs in the United States. In 2019, Campbell founded MeToo Kits, later rebranded as

after the mythic Greek queen, Leda. Her decision to start Leda Health was driven by her own experience as a survivor of

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

, 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 The blockchain is a distributed ledger with growing lists of Record (computer science), records (''blocks'') that are securely linked together via Cryptographic hash function, cryptographic hashes. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of th ...

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 A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

police station A police station is a facility operated by police or a similar law enforcement agency that serves to accommodate police officers and other law enforcement personnel. The role served by a police station varies by agency, type, and jurisdiction, ...

. The kits are available in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. 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 ''Fortunes Change the World list. In 2023, Campbell was crowned Miss Pittsburgh. A year later, in 2024, she served as an alternate delegate for Pennsylvania at the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

Personal life

Campbell dated

Martin Shkreli Martin Shkreli (; born March 17, 1983) is an American investor, businessman and financial criminal. Shkreli is the co-founder of the hedge funds Elea Capital, MSMB Capital Management, and MSMB Healthcare, the co-founder and former CEO of pharm ...

between February and August 2023. Campbell says the two bonded over being "healthcare pariahs" but chose to keep her relationship with him private due to his reputation.

Awards and recognition

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Madison Living people 1995 births 21st-century American businesswomen American female models 21st-century American businesspeople American company founders American women company founders American health care chief executives American women chief executives Hampshire College alumni People from Bridgeville, Pennsylvania