Camille Shaw - Social Media Manager, Alma
Camille is the social media manager at Alma, a company making it easier to access high-quality, affordable mental health care. She spends her days working with therapists in Alma’s directory to create posts for social media, design digital assets, and plan valuable, authentic content for the months ahead. Alma is pioneering a new model for mental health care, and Camille’s role is essential to getting the word out about it. With Esther Perel and Guy Winch as clinical advisors, it’s safe to say Alma is a trusted source both for those seeking mental health resources and those providing care.
The Basics:
Hometown: DeLand, Florida
Current city: Brooklyn, New York
Alma mater: University of North Florida
Degree: Advertising, Minor in Photography
Very first job: Waitress
Hustle: Social Media Manager, Alma; Freelance Photographer
The Interests:
Babe you admire and why?
I really admire Lindsay Peoples Wagner, the Editor-in-Chief of the Cut (and formerly Teen Vogue). Although I don’t know her personally, Linday’s work and leadership is incredible to watch from afar.
How do you enjoy your free time?
Living alone during an ongoing pandemic in a big city, I’ve found the most solace in doing acts of self-care. As soon as I log off of work, I indulge in slow, mindful acts of self-care including baths, reading, skincare, and working out. I also enjoy secondhand shopping for the thrill of a good hunt.
Best piece of advice you've ever been given?
In my senior year of college, I visited an aunt and was telling (complaining to?) her about how I was hesitant to leave my part-time job as a waitress and go full-time with photography. Her response was “no risk, no reward” and I’ve carried those words with me for the last five years or so. Those words pushed me past fear and insecurity more times than I can count.
What’s your go-to self-care ritual?
Nothing feels better than taking a hot bath at the end of the day. The pandemic winter has been really tough. Hot baths are the perfect transition from working from home to mellowing out for the evening. I take that time to unclench my jaw, slow my thoughts, and check-in with myself.
The Hustle:
Tell us about your hustle.
Right now, my main hustle is as a social media manager at Alma—a platform that provides access to a community of mental health providers dedicated to simplifying mental health care. My daily tasks involve working with therapists in our directory to create posts for Instagram, designing digital assets, and planning for the months ahead.
How did you determine the style, tone, and voice for Hello Alma?
When I joined Alma a little over a year ago, the company was still very young. We determined the style, tone and voice for Alma by first thinking about how we wanted to show up. We knew that the effects of social media aren’t always positive for mental health, so we didn’t want to be another landing place for vague inspirational quotes. If we were going to show up on social media, then we were determined to always be two things: additive, and a resource for those seeking mental health care.
What, in your experience, makes content successful?
Relatability, perspective, and design. If you can check all three of these boxes, or even just the first ⅔, then it’s successful in my book. Analytically, I judge the success of an Alma post by the number of saves and responses we receive. These details tell me much more about how the viewer digested the post than likes can.
How have your past professional and academic experiences and lessons prepared you for the work you do today? How have they not prepared you?
I’m a strong believer that everything you’ve done affects everything you will do. My past experiences as a freelance photographer prepared me to be able to observe, intake, and express the styles and needs of a client. While planning topics to cover on Alma’s social, I’m able to think about what issues are relevant to the community I’m speaking to and then hopefully express their needs and/or offer resolution through our therapist’s insight.
How has being a woman impacted your professional experiences? What can we collectively do to support and empower women in your industry today?
Being a woman in my field has had a larger effect internally than outwardly, I think. I had been trained by society to believe that I wasn’t good enough and that I was not worthy of certain successes. When I joined Alma’s marketing team, I was suddenly surrounded by strong, smart women and men who knew what they wanted and worked together to solve problems. This work environment has empowered me to have more confidence in my ideas and actions. I think collectively, we can all work harder to tell our peers when they’re doing something right, not just criticize when they do something wrong.
What’s one thing you’re proud to have accomplished in your career thus far?
“Make Space For” is one of the first social campaigns we created at Alma. The campaign covered mental health topics like self-compassion and self-awareness. My role within the campaign was to design it visually and work with notable leaders outside of Alma to gain perspective on how they advocate for their own mental health. This project spanned over a month and was so fulfilling to work on!
Who are some women in your field that you look to for inspiration?
I really admire @sdirshe for her writing and social media leadership at @meetflamingo. I’m also a huge fan of @cyndiramirez because of her strong intuition and vision for @chillhouse.
Career and/or life advice for other babes (both inside and outside of your industry?)
I’m still learning every day, but one thing I know for sure is that you can’t have true success without taking care of yourself. No career, job, or title is worth sacrificing your own mental or physical health. Take care of yourself so that when opportunities come, you’re ready for them.
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