Chief Executive Officer and Founder 

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Johnell Bell is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Espousal Strategies LLC, a boutique consultancy that provides government relations, public and stakeholder engagement services to businesses, private-public partnerships, nonprofits, and government agencies. He is also the Chief of Equity Officer for the Interstate Bridge Program. 

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Prior to founding Espousal, Johnell served as State Field Director for U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley where he led the senator’s forward-facing outreach and state field operations. Johnell also served as Director of Diversity and Transit Equity for TriMet where he served as the agency’s Chief Diversity Officer overseeing Title VI, D/MWESB, transit equity, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategies. His efforts received national recognition and he helped to set Oregon’s record of awarding over $170 million to DBE firms during the construction of the Orange line. 

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He works with an array of stakeholders – citizens, international construction firms, D/M/W/ESB enterprises, and government officials – to design, implement, monitor, and document successful initiatives for D/M/W/ESB utilization, equity and inclusion, community engagement, and business, workforce, and community development.