Valerie Bell has been a member of the Jeannette Rankin Board of Directors since 2017. She is the Executive Director of Athens – Clarke County Library, a position she has held since 2015. Valerie’s inspired leadership was instrumental in the Athens Clarke County Library being named Georgia Library of the Year in 2018.

Valerie has been a volunteer on the JRF planning committee for It’s Time to Talk: Forums on Race since the program originated in 2017. She has leveraged her leadership as the Co-Chair for four of those years. Valerie has stepped up as a partner in the racial justice work by providing funds from grants to support It’s Time to Talk. She has partnered with us providing in-kind support for the Jeannette Rankin Foundation Volunteer of the Year program via library space for training the Volunteer Racial Justice Facilitators (two years) as well as offering the first Beloved Community Dialogue (two years.).

In 2018, Valerie met Anna Scheytt, then the Dean of the UGA School of Social Work at It’s Time to Talk. Six months later, there was a $150,000 grant to provide trauma-informed care at the library by UGA Social Work students. At It’s Time to Talk this year, her team met team members from the Northeast Georgia Food Bank, and together they are working on a project called Food 2 Kids 360.

Her work in originating One Book Athens, and finding the financial support for the program is to be applauded. Rather than going it alone, Valerie engaged multiple Athens community stakeholders from faith organizations, community organizations, individuals, media, and UGA. It often was an exercise in “herding cats” but Valerie was dedicated to providing a collaborative community project that ended up serving hundreds of people. Val’s leadership brought forth an important community conversation about racism and its effects on individuals and communities. Jeannette Rankin Foundation is grateful for Val’s leadership and support. Athens is truly blessed to have a leader of the caliber of Valerie Bell. Athens is a better place for SO many people because of Valerie Bell’s leadership