Mario Alejandro Adams-Campos was born in the Texas Hill country in New Braunfels, TX, raised by his single mother, Yolanda Reyes, along with his two sisters. He attended the State University of New York (aka, Univ. at Buffalo) in Amherst where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Industrial & Systems Engineering in 1985. Mario furthered his education at Butler University in Indianapolis, earning an MBA [with honors] in 1991. His father Alejandro Campos helped guide his entrance into the business world after college.
Mario is currently employed as an Administrative Support Specialist at National Defense University, namely its College of International Security Affairs (CISA). His duties include assisting the Dean of Administration, faculty, and staff in the daily operations of CISA's mission regarding clerical, administrative, and records management functions. His previous position at NDU was as a Writing Instructor, assigned to NDU Library.
Mario retired from Ford Motor Company in 2020 with nearly (29) years of extensive engineering experience ranging from automotive regulatory matters, body engineering design & release, program management, export programs, to product planning. He held key positions during foreign assignments in Brazil and Germany (he speaks Portuguese, German, and Spanish) and hold (4) patents jointly with Ford.
In the military arena, Mario retired in 2012 after more than (20) years of service in the US Navy. His noteworthy accomplishments included:
- Mobilized to serve a 13-month assignment in Iraq (his 2nd tour), working with the Iraq Assistance Group (IAG), which partnered with Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) with respect to military operations and training and also mobilized to Iraq in 2004 (1st tour) with Naval Expeditionary Logistics Support Force (NAVELSF) for 8 months, providing combat logistics/ fueling support to both US Army and Marines Corps forces in a very spartan and hostile environment.
- Graduated from the Naval War College and received numerous DoD awards including the Defense Meritorious Service Medal and Army Meritorious Service Medal (2004 & 2008, respectively).
Mario has had a strong belief in community service for decades. He was a co-founder in 1997 of Detroit’s Chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and also of Ford Motor’s Veterans Network Group (VET NG) in 2007. He is currently involved in the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW Post 1407 in Ferndale, MI) and American Legion (Post 232 in Dearborn Hts,MI), plus is an honorary member of the DAV (Detroit chapter 19).
He currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Univ. at Buffalo’s Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) [since 2020], supporting the Dean of ISE and their long-term goals of enhancing students’ lives and academics. His hobbies include gardening, biking, marathons (ran 2), r/c aircraft, & guitar. Mario is married to Kelley, residing in Washington DC (Navy Yard); they have 4 adult children.