As a girl in Colombia, Ania Camargo learned by example from her mother the extraordinary things that can happen through dedication to community service.

Although she had seven children, Camargo's mother used what unimaginable spare time she had to start a cultural center dedicated to teaching lower-income people in Bogota how to speak English. Within 10 years it had grown to become a university of 10,000 people, with Camargo's mother as the volunteer director.

"So that's my role model," Camargo, the Beacon Hill mother who runs a business and chairs the Beacon Hill Civic Association, said. "She's a very passionate person, she does what she believes in. That joy that she gets from helping other people, that's part of the reason why I volunteer."

For Camargo, like her mother, volunteering has always been important. "I have volunteered my entire life," she said. "I think some people are rigged one way, I was rigged that way."

From Harvard Business School To Non-Profit Helper

She began giving back to the community in high school, teaching illiterate children how to read and write. When she came to the United States to go to Stanford University, she worked in a nursery school and, later, volunteered in San Francisco soup kitchens.

After arriving in Boston to attend Harvard Business School, she joined the school's nonprofit club, doing volunteer projects on the weekend. In her second year at the school, she worked for the World Health Organization. 

Realizing her continual draw to volunteerism, Camargo thought, "Well, why don't I just do this for a living?" She decided to combine her business skills with her interest in nonprofits to co-found Case Associates,
Management Assistance to Not for Profit Organizations, in 1999. Her consulting business helps nonprofits run the business side of their companies more smoothly. 

Eventually, Camargo's interests led her to volunteer at the Beacon Hill Nursery School and get involved in 2004 with the Beacon Hill Civic Association, which she was the president of from 2009 to 2011 and now chairs. 

But none of this was planned. "It's more that you start working on things that you care about and it takes you in different directions," she said.

Tireless Mom, Volunteer

Joan Berndt, herself a hardworking volunteer who has collaborated with Camargo on several civic association endeavors, calls her "a very talented a savvy woman."

"She's tireless. She's absolutely tireless. I can't even tell you how many hours she puts in, it's mind-boggling, and we're very lucky that she is here. She's juggles [three full-time jobs] magnificently. She's a very impressive woman," Berndt said of the way Camargo manages to be a mom, chair the civic association and run Case Associates.

Suzanne Besser, the executive director of the civic association, said she "has been extremely fortunate to have Ania on our team. She gives so much of her time and her professional skills to better our association, and provides very effective leadership that motivates us all to work harder to carry out our mission."

Pro Bono Work For the Hill

Camargo's business, Case Associates, has done pro bono work in the $3.5 million renovation of the community center for the Beacon Hill Civic Association from 2004 to 2006, a contribution to Beacon Hill that Besser said is among Camargo's major contributions to the neighborhood. 

Camargo's exhaustive guidance in researching, developing and producing the neighborhood plan will guide the association's agenda for years to come, Besser added.

"For me, personally, there isn’t a day that goes by without my learning something valuable from Ania," she said.