Mar 31, 2021
Don Bell
Racial Justice

Don Bell currently serves as Vice Chair of the East Hartford Town Council. Don was elected in November 2019 as part of the largest Council change in a generation. Don also serves as Assistant Director for Career Development at the University of Connecticut School of Law. Prior to this position, Don was the Director of the Black Talent Initiative at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. In this role, Don worked to increase diversity and inclusion among policymakers in Congress. Don worked in the United
 States Senate as a legal fellow to Senator Chris Murphy, judiciary staffer to Senator Richard Blumenthal, and associate counsel then counsel to the
 US Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. As a Senate staffer, Don was elected president of the Senate Black Legislative Staff Caucus (SBLSC). During his term, he conducted a groundbreaking census of Black Senate staffers and led a movement to
 make Congress more representative of America.
 This work drew national attention to the pervasive lack of diversity among Congressional staffers and the urgent need to increase representation for all communities. Don’s work and commentaries have been recognized by the New York Times, Washington Post, USA
   Today, ABC News and other local and national outlets.
    Don is a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law and graduated from the University of Connecticut as an Honors Scholar. He currently serves as a Delegate to the Connecticut Bar Association (CBA) House of Delegates, member of the CBA Diversity &
 Inclusion Committee, and member of the CBA Rule of Law Committee