Donna Bell

Background

About Donna Bell

I have worked as a clinical social worker in a Carrboro for over a decade. Early in my career, I was deeply rooted in my work with people of color and (especially women) in the academy. I have often joked, I should give me a stipend for the number of students I have successful supported through the traumatizing process of graduating from the PWI that is UNC-CH. For any who wanted to make the journey, I felt honored to be part of their support. In 2019, I founded Congruence Counseling Group with Leslie Stevens around the idea that there are not enough healing spaces where people of color are centered. We wanted to create a space where a diverse community could see themselves reflected clearly. This is not a practice of exclusion but one of intentional inclusion. Anyone who comes and finds what they need in the space is welcome. I also served as a town council member for ten years in Chapel Hill, NC. I am a strong advocate for local politics. I believe that local is where politics touches people in their day to day lives. Chapel Hill deals with the issues that many communities struggle with throughout the nation but from a position of extreme privilege that sometimes makes change difficult. I look for any opportunity to encourage women of color and social workers to think about public services. Social workers training in systems theory give them a very specific lens to think about the complexities of government.