From Intern to Leader: Celebrating 9 Years of Dedication at IPF

In 2016, Della Campbell began her journey with the Innocence Project of Florida as an intern. Today, she serves as our Intake and Internship Manager, helping identify potential innocence cases while building an internship program that introduces the next generation of advocates to the realities of the criminal legal system.

When Della first interned with IPF, the program looked very different. She remembers working alone at a card table facing a wall, surrounded by bins overflowing with physical mail and more than a few stickers added by our Intake Coordinator to brighten her workspace. Alongside her best friend, who worked in communications, and her future husband, then a 1L traveling from Atlanta to Tallahassee, Della spent her senior year at FSU reading and responding to letters from people seeking IPF’s help. Today, her responsibilities and commitment have only grown.

“Growing our internship program has been one of the biggest joys of my time here at IPF. We’ve cleared out backlogs, taken on new cases, and helped the next generation of lawyers, paralegals, and investigators see the good and the bad of our criminal legal system.”

From Intern to Intake and Internship Manager

Nearly a decade later, Della’s responsibilities and her impact have grown tremendously. Her days now include preparing and reviewing cases, managing public records requests, and welcoming students each semester who are ready to dig into cases involving potential innocence.

This summer alone, IPF welcomed more than a dozen students from across the country, along with a barrister from Ireland. The office may have gotten a little louder, but for Della, watching students learn from the work and from one another is one of the best parts of the job.

Della with our Spring 2025 interns

Building the Next Generation of Advocates

Growing IPF’s internship program has become one of Della’s greatest joys. Under her leadership, interns have helped clear backlogs, support new cases, and contribute meaningfully to our work while gaining firsthand insight into both the strengths and failures of the criminal legal system.

But Della’s investment in our interns extends beyond their time at IPF. Former interns regularly return with updates about law school acceptances, new careers, and major life milestones. She has attended two former interns’ weddings and an engagement party, and keeps a board filled with notes they have left behind about what their experience at IPF meant to them.

That lasting connection speaks to what Della has built: not simply an internship program, but a place where emerging lawyers, paralegals, investigators, and advocates can learn, contribute, and discover how they might pursue justice in their own careers.

“From intern to part-time assistant to manager, I’ve loved my time with IPF and look forward to seeing what the next decade brings!”

As we celebrate Della’s 9th work anniversary, we are grateful for the countless ways she has strengthened IPF. Her story reflects the power of investing in people, from those who write to us seeking help to the students who walk through our doors eager to make a difference.

Happy 9th anniversary, Della! Thank you for growing alongside IPF, investing in the next generation, and bringing care and dedication to this work every day. We can’t wait to see what the next decade brings.