After following a nontraditional career path, Aissata Camara is embracing a new role where she’ll lead an agency known as the State Department of New York City. Camara was recently named commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of International Affairs.
As Camara explained during an exclusive interview with NY1, the office is “one of the most critical offices for the city in terms of its relationship with the world.”
Camara’s personal journey began in the West African nation of Guinea, where as a child she survived female genital mutilation.
“It really shaped a lot of my views on the world,” Camara reflected. “I became very passionate in making sure that others don’t experience that.”
At the age of 13, a whole new world opened up for Camara when she and her family moved to New York City.
After attending Baruch College and studying public service at New York University, Camara’s career path brought her right back to Guinea. With just $18, Camara and her sister launched an organization – the There Is No Limit Foundation – to help empower women and girls around the world.
“We went through violence, and one day we were chatting, and we realized that all of it was because we were women,” Camara said.
Through the foundation, women in Guinea have been able to sell their tie-dye clothing around the world.
Camara’s helped those designs make it all the way to New York Fashion week and even onto former First Lady Michelle Obama.
A decade ago, Camara decided she wanted to make an impact in a different way. She joined the Mayor’s Office for International Affairs, where she most recently worked as chief of staff and deputy commissioner.
“I did a lot of the management of the largest diplomatic community in the world, which is right here in New York City,” she said.
As commissioner, Camara plans to lead with this vision: “When you walk around the world, whether you’re in Nigeria, or you’re in London or you are in India, that when someone says New York City, that people will respond by saying, ‘that’s a great city.'”
