Move & Shaker, Desiree Peterkin Bell, Inspires Us to Live in Our Purpose As Change Agents
We’ve heard the phrase, “You’ve got to be the change to see change,” and Desiree Peterkin Bell is a prime example of being that change agent that promotes change, not locally, but nationally.
Bell strives to identify, create, and leverage traditional and non-traditional media, and to define strategies that work. She is a strategist, brand builder and problem solver.
In recognition of her efforts, Desiree has been honored as one of the industry’s best and brightest by PR Week’s “40 under 40″; as a ‘Shorty Award’ winner; by the Philadelphia Tribune as “One of Philadelphia’s Most Influential African-American Women”; by Black Enterprise as a “triple threat”, and by Philadelphia Business Journal as a “40 under 40” recipient.
Prior to establishing DPBell & Associates, Desiree Peterkin Bell served in two appointed positions for the City of Philadelphia and for former Mayor Michael A. Nutter: Director of Communications and Strategy, and City Representative. As Director of Communications she was responsible for creating and leading local, regional, national, international, traditional and non-traditional media strategies for the City of Philadelphia and Mayor Michael A. Nutter. She crafted the first-ever social media policy for the City of Philadelphia and built an award winning online presence for the City.
Desiree Peterkin Bell recognizes that she drinks deeply from wells she did not dig, and spends a lot of her free time mentoring young students of color, specifically young women. She is a founding member of the Simmons Memorial Foundation, a non-profit that supports students in their efforts to achieve their education and self-reliance goals. She focuses on students whose backgrounds, similar to her own, are modest; encouraging them to break through boundaries and barriers to determine the path toward their goals.
In addition to inspiring women, she recently co-authored the book, “Women Who Inspire,” where she has been heavily promoting it through conferences and workshops worldwide.
I had the opportunity to chat with Desiree where she explained what inspired to get into public policy and what her next moves are.
To listen to the interview, click below.
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