Alisha Bell has been chair of the Wayne County Commission since 2000, succeeding her mother, who had served since 1991.
As an active member of the community, Commissioner Bell has served as chair of the National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence and the Detroit Recovery Project. She currently serves as the chair of Wayne County Zoological Authority and Wayne County HealthChoice. She is a member of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and Jack and Jill of America Inc and a past member of the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority. She volunteered with Junior Achievement and was founder and charter president the Metro Detroit Optimist Club, a young adult chapter of the Optimist Club International. She is also a former precinct delegate.
Commissioner Bell grew up in the Wayne County Commission’s 7th District, which covers part of Detroit’s far west side. She is a graduate of Cass Technical High School (where singer Diana Ross graduated) and received her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Florida A&M University, graduating cum laude. She also earned a master’s degree in education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She and her husband, Kranston Young, have a son, Kranston II, and a daughter, Morgan. She is the daughter of James and Edna Bell and has a younger sister, Sonja Johnson.
What are your responsibilities and why did you select your career?
I am chair of the Wayne County Commission, which is the largest county in Michigan with 1.8 million people. I was first elected in November of 2002 as the youngest African American woman elected to a county board of commissioners. Commissioners are responsible for the $2 billion county budget, we enact laws, approve all contracts entered into by the County and serves as checks and balances to county wide elected officials. As chair, I oversee our 50 person staff of legal, policy, and communication professionals. I also set the agenda and conduct our Full Board meetings. I was fortunate enough to be inspired by my mom who also served as county commissioner as well as Detroit school board member.
As a Black woman, what do you consider your superpower to be?
As a Black woman, I consider my superpower as having the ability to juggle my career responsibilities along with my family obligations. I have two teenage children who grew up in this world and being able to raise them properly, participate in their activities as well as ascend to the leadership role of chairwoman — after spending eight years as vice chair — is certainly a superpower. It has required faith, patience, determination, and fortitude to do it all and to do it well!
Why is it important for women of color to work in leadership roles and decision-making capacities?
It is important for women of color to work in leadership roles and decision making capacities because we have a unique perspective on issues and usually see things from a different lens than men or our white counterparts. For example, under my leadership, we have established a Wayne County Women’s Commission to address issues such as maternal mortality and other issues pertaining to women in Wayne County. Additionally, we’ve also established a Youth Council to expose our young people to civics and county government. These would not have come to fruition if not for a Black woman in leadership who understands the importance and need to establish these groups.
If you could thank any Black woman for her contributions to history and society, who would it be and why?
I would thank Shirley Chisholm for being “Unbought and Unbossed”! The courage and determination to make an impact on her community as the first Black woman to serve in Congress and to then run for President of the United States speaks to her tenacity, fortitude and vision for a better community and country. Her revolutionary political career serves as blueprint for all black women to be courageous and fight for your seat at the table when decisions are being made about your community. Because of her, it’s a little easier to run for and get elected to office.
Why is it important for more experienced Black women to reach back and help younger women of color?
It is important for more experienced Black women to reach back to help the younger women of color because we need to mentor and provide guidance for those who want to enter our field to ensure that the issues that we have fought for are carried forth. It is our obligation to teach and prepare them so that our work is not in vain. It’s great to be the first, but we cannot be the last. Training the next generation is vital to the sustainability of the foundation that we have laid down and hopefully they will be greater than us and go further than us.
Share three career highlights.
Career highlights include be voted chair by my colleagues-I am only the second woman chair of the Wayne County Commission in 40 years. Second would being elected to serve as the president of the National Association of Black County Officials, a position that my mother had previously held. I was able to host our annual Economic Development Conference in 2013 and 2019 bringing county officials from across the country to Wayne County. Third, receiving the Freedom and Justice Award from the Detroit Branch of the NAACP, an organization that I have the utmost respect for.
