40 In 2008, Bell was elected to the Hall County Board of Commissioners, where he earned plaudits for ethics reform, reducing costs, and promoting public/private partnerships. At a Hall County Chamber of Commerce Issues ‘n Eggs Breakfast two years later, he raised a few eyebrows when he made an important announcement. He was switching parties and becoming a republican. Bell, who had interned with and worked for blue-dog democrat Bishop, felt that his party had drifted too far from his ideas about the role of government and fiscal matters. “I’d always thought of myself as a conservative Democrat,” he said, recalling long rides with Bishop through the backroads of Southwest Georgia, discussing what it meant for a democrat to represent a conservative district. Indeed, Bell’s relationship with the Democratic Party had been fruitful. He had been the youngest delegate ever elected to the Democratic National Convention, a super- delegate, and a prime time speaker at the DNC in 2004. He was the national president of the College Democrats. But the debate over the Affordable Care Act had made him unsure of his place in that party. “I think in 2010 it was the final calling of the issue of whether you could be a conservative in the Democratic Party,” he shared. “I think it was a noble objective, but I felt that eventually the Democratic Party was going to go for full-on socialized medicine. I think that was readily apparent.” Since joining the GOP, Bell has worked for several republican presidential candidates, including Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, and Rand Paul. He has also served as the national director of African American political engagement for the Republican National Committee. Despite switching teams, Bell has remained passionate about the issues that have always animated his career — volunteerism, working with at-risk youth, and especially criminal justice reform and what he terms the “school-to-jail pipeline” that exists in too many disadvantaged neighborhoods. To address this situation, Bell created 20/20 Leaders of America, a bipartisan group of 20 African American democrats and republicans focused on reforming the criminal justice system. “We are very overtly bipartisan, meaning that if we all work with our respective parties and try to bring them to the table, then more people benefit rather than cutting the table in half,” he said. Bell said 20/20 Leaders of America gained national notoriety during the last election with the Presidential Justice Forum, which brought together presidential candidates from both parties for the single issue of criminal justice reform. The event was sponsored by Facebook and Google and produced by Black Entertainment Television. Candidates Bernie Sanders and Ben Carson answered questions, and more than three million people viewed online with another 500 attending in person. With all of the demands of a successful career, Bell still finds the time now and again to return to his alma mater. In 2014, he made a run for state school superintendent in Georgia and had the opportunity to campaign in Lowndes County, where he said he had a wonderful time speaking to constituents. “It was almost like being back in college,” he said. Bell said Valdosta will always be a special place for him because of the people he met and opportunities he found as a student at VSU. He said VSU was a great place for young people who, like him, were looking for opportunities and were not afraid to dream big dreams. “I think that many kids who come from rural Georgia like I did, and North Georgia, can come to Valdosta and find good people in a good community who are willing to give you a chance.”