Meet Camille Salas

Product Owner/ Digital Archivist, Research, Archives & Data Strategy

I am a third generation Chicana/Tejana/Latina and first generation informationist deploying my expertise as product owner of Artemis, NPR’s internal digital audio archive.

During the Mexican Revolution, three of my grandparents emigrated to El Paso, Texas. None of them had more than an elementary school education. My paternal grandfather became an entrepreneur in Texas and eventually owned a grocery store and a shoe shop. A family story has it that the famous Texas bootmaker Tony Lama forced my grandfather out of business. My maternal grandfather became a U.S. citizen after joining the Navy during World War II. He and other sailors of Mexican descent were asked to cross a line in the sand if they wanted to become American citizens, and so they did. Later on, he became one of the first Mexican American professionals to work at the El Paso Natural Gas Company.

“[My grandfather] became one of the first Mexican American professionals to work at the El Paso Natural Gas Company.”

My father not only went to college, but also was the first in his family to receive a graduate degree after serving in the Army in Vietnam. My mother also pursued an advanced degree and was a bilingual stage actress, director, playwright, poet, and one-woman performer during the Chicano Civil Rights Movement. I’ve been told she moved audiences to tears. Both of my parents dedicated the majority of their careers to educational endeavors and are now retired in El Paso. My younger and smarter sister is one of a handful of female record label managers and is the owner of a small label and management company, currently rocking in Brooklyn, New York.