Ron Bell

Ron Bell is a civic engagement and voting rights organizer with a distinguished track record of developing the infrastructure of public participation in community and government. Founder of the nonpartisan nonprofit Dunk the Vote, which since 1992 has registered over 100,000 voters in Massachusetts, Mr. Bell has built a career in bringing an innovative, results-driven approach to citizen self-advocacy, leadership training and education, political campaigns, and justice-focused coalitions.

A sought-after consultant and speaker, he is a former Senior Advisor for Community Affairs for Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and has served on many campaigns at the state and city-wide level.

He attended Bentley University and has completed fellowships at UMASS Boston, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP). He has received President Clinton’s Point of Light Award, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Rosa Parks Award, the 2005 Freedom House History Makers Award, the University of Massachusetts Robert H. Quinn Award for Outstanding Community Leadership, the UMass Boston Center for Collaborative Leadership Leading the Way Award, the Get Konnected! Most Influential Men of Color Award, the Black Male Advancement Fathers Award, and the Franklin Park Coalition Community Award 2024.

Mr. Bell serves as an advisor and board member for many organizations focused on educating the leaders of tomorrow and is also an anchor broadcaster on Boston Black News.

Michael Jacoby Brown

Internationally known community organizer with over thirty years of experience as a community organizer, non-profit executive director, trainer, and consultant with community, social justice, labor, religious, government, and health organizations. Brown is the author of Building Powerful Community Organizations: A Personal Guide to Creating Groups that Can Solve Problems and Change the World. (Long Haul Press, 2007).

Dawn Duncan, MSW, MSc

Public health professional, grant writer, nonprofit administration. Dawn is a grant writer and public health professional who has raised more than $40 million in grant funding over her 25+ year career. She holds a Master of Science in Maternal and Child Health from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and a Master of Social Work in Community Organizing, Management and Planning from the Boston University School of Social Work.

Pastor Bruce Wall

CEO Boston Praise Radio and TV and Boston Black News – decades of experience in community Radio/TV broadcasting. Boston Praise Radio &TV utilizes over 30 Internet Radio Broadcast Platforms. Pastor Wall also has extensive experience in nonprofit management, community organizing and judicial administration.

Zachary Roscoe, Boston Manager

Zachary Roscoe will continue his role as the Manager for Dunk the Vote Boston. He helped Dunk the Vote from the beginning and continues to help the community by helping young people in athletics, officiating games and being a devoted father of four lovely children. His commitment, loyalty and work ethics demonstrate Dunk the Vote 2020- A CLEAR VISION FOR THE FUTURE.

Wali Bell, Ohio Manager

Wali Bell, Ohio Manager – Wali Bell is a graduate of Ohio University with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism (newswriting and editorial), and a minor in political science. He has also studied advertising and public relations at the graduate level at Ohio State University. Wali has performed various news writing, public relations, broadcast, photography, advertising and media relations functions for WOUB AM/FM Radio, the Athens Messenger, Suburban News Publications, Call and Post News, Nationwide Insurance, Columbus Convention & Visitor’s Bureau and other community organizations and individuals since 1979.

Cece Bell Johnson, California Manager

Cece Bell graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre Arts. After graduating, she has done numerous soap operas, sitcoms, and commercials. She is presently pursuing working on voiceovers for different projects. Cece will bring a focus to Dunk the Vote using the arts, film and theater connecting and building on the large network that she has developed in these industries over the past 25+ years.

Carla Brown, Florida Manager

Carla has a background in Fashion and Interior Design, including her own company called Kiayana Imagine. She will use her skills to establish Dunk the Vote Florida using her vast network and 30 years’ experience in the fashion world, interior design and special events planning as well as many years of involvement in her church community.

Peter Lin-Marcus – Research Analyst and Liaison to Asian Community

A resident of Boston’s Chinatown, has served his entire career as a community organizer and civic leader in Massachusetts. He has campaigned as a candidate for the Boston City Council, bringing a visionary platform of everyone achieving educational success, a pathway to home ownership and ownership of economic empowerment. As an alumnus of City Year, Generations Incorporated and AmeriCorps, he has worked with Massachusetts residents to strengthening our schools and neighborhoods and end violence. As a community organizer in Boston, Mr. Lin-Marcus helped Alaska Street’s neighbors to “virtually eliminate” drugs and prostitution (according to Boston police) through creatively using technology. The success from hotspot to crime-free inspired other nearby neighborhoods (where Alaska Street neighbors have visited) in Boston to work towards achieving similar success. These efforts earned the neighborhoods and their leaders multiple awards.

Dr. Christopher Jones, Executive Director

Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub – National Strategy Advisor – Dr. Christopher M. Jones is executive director of the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub, a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring entrepreneurs, creatives, supporting makers, and advancing the infrastructure for entrepreneurs in Arkansas and the entire region. With graduate degrees in nuclear engineering and planning, and 20 years of experience in entrepreneurship, community development, housing, energy and infrastructure, diversity, and management, Jones is uniquely suited to discuss barriers to entrepreneurship and innovation. A native of Pine Bluff, Ark., Jones has spent his career promoting science, engineering, equity and inclusion. For DTV 2020 CELL, Dr. Jones is supporting and advising on the national strategy.

Paul Simmons, WPH Associates

Data Analyst and Pennsylvania Political Director- Paul Simmons specializes in structural analysis and general consulting within the political, private, and nonprofit sectors. His political history includes campaign management, campaign compliance, issues research, field operation research and due diligence for political campaigns and activists.

Lew Finfer,
Director, The Massachusetts Action for Justice

Lew Finfer has been a community organizer in Massachusetts since 1970. He worked for neighborhood groups in Dorchester in the 1970’s such as Dorchester Fair Share. In the 1980’s he directed the Massachusetts Tenants Organization and then the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance. Since 1990, he’s worked with others to form community improvement groups in Springfield, Worcester, Brockton, New Bedford, Fall River, Boston, Lynn. In Boston he was the Director at one time of Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO).  He served as Director of Massachusetts Community Action Network from 1985-2020.  He currently directs the Massachusetts Action for Justice.

Florella Oroean, Senior Strategist for Policy and graphic design

In Memoriam

FLAR Design. Over the past 20 years, Florella Orowan has worked with various for-profit and non-profit organizations in the production of print-based and web-based literature. She has also served as a consultant on local political and civic engagement campaigns to develop and implement field operations and strategy.

Herb Cohen

Herb Cohen is a graduate of Brown University and has served as President of his class. He is a graduate of Columbia University Law School. Attorney Cohen is admitted to practice in Massachusetts, and the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. He has served as a Lecturer for Mayor’s Housing Task Force, Newark New Jersey, and Boston Building Trade Council “Construction Industry Start Ups”. Attorney Cohen was General Counsel for Freedom House, Inc. for over 20 years and helped establish Boston’s International High School.

The Honorable Mel King

In Memoriam

In 1967, King became the director of the New Urban League of Greater Boston. . In 1973, he was elected as a State Representative for the 9th Suffolk District and served in the Massachusetts Legislature until 1982.

In 1983, Mel King ran for mayor, the first African-American to run in a final election bid for mayor of Boston,

In 1970, King created the Community Fellows Program (CFP) in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT. He served as an Adjunct Professor of Urban Studies and Planning and director of the Community Fellows Program for twenty-five years until 1996

In 1981, King’s book, Chain of Change: Struggles for Black Community Development was published by South End Press. It focused on development in housing, education, employment and politics in Boston from the 1950s through the 1970s.

Hubie Jones

Board of Champion Emeritus

Hubert Eugene Jones, better known as “Hubie,” shaped and defined the civic and social landscape of Boston for more than forty-five years. He played a leadership role in the formation, building and rebuilding of at least thirty community organizations within Boston’s Black community and across all neighborhoods in the city.

He became the first African American appointed to a deanship at Boston University, serving as the dean of the School of Social Work from 1977 to 1993.

Between 1995 and 2002, Jones served as special assistant to the chancellor for urban affairs at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. In 2002, he founded the Boston Children’s Chorus, consisting of eighty young people from diverse ethnic and socio-economical backgrounds.

Tito Jackson

In 2007, Jackson became the Industry Director for Information Technology in Governor Deval Patrick’s Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development. Later, Jackson became the Political Director on Governor Patrick’s successful re-election campaign in 2010.

Jackson won a seat on the Boston City Council in a 2011 special election for the District 7 seat.

In January 2017 Jackson ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Boston against incumbent, Marty Walsh.

He currently leads. Verdant Medical.

Charlie Rose

Charlie Rose has been a youth worker, organizer and entrepreneur in Boston for nearly 30 years. As a founding board member of City Year and then staff member who has played myriad roles, Charlie has helped build the organization into a national model for youth community service organizations.

In addition, Charlie has also been a founding board member for seven other organizations including YouthBuild Boston and has served the community through his work with organizations such as Youth Outreach Program, Citizens for Safety, National Toxics Campaign, United Labor Unions Local, Urban Edge and as a VISTA volunteer. Prior to joining City Year’s staff, he was the Director of Youth Services for the City of Boston’s Community Centers.

He is currently Vice President and Dean of City Year USA and the father of two children.

Bishop William E. Dickerson

He is a graduate of Boston Latin School. After graduating from Boston Latin, he went on to complete Bible school. Furthering his education, he also earned an undergraduate degree in Business Management.

Dickerson also earned a Masters degree in Education (M.Ed.) from Cambridge College and a Master of Arts degree in Urban Ministry (MA) from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. He also studied at Harvard University. He is a certified HIV/AIDS educator and has obtained training certificates in health education. Dickerson also holds an honorary Doctorate.

Dickerson is the founding pastor of Greater Love Tabernacle, the president of Restoration Ministries, Inc., an organization designed to train twenty-first century pastors and five-fold ministry leaders. He is also the president of Greater Love Community Cares, Inc., a non-profit, philanthropic agency that helps economically marginalized individuals and families.

Sid & Libby Topol

Sid Topol – In Memoriam

President, Topol Family Foundation.

Innovator and entrepreneur, Sidney Topol was a contributor to several key developments in the telecommunications industries in the latter half of the twentieth century. He was a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and an engineer and executive at Raytheon and later Scientific Atlanta.

(credit: wikipedia)

Rose Arruda

Rose Arruda is the Program Coordinator, Mass Department of Agriculture. In the past she was Deputy Field Director, Deval Patrick for Governor, and served in Gov Patrick’s administration.

Jovita Fontanez

Board of Champion Emeritus

A 1984 graduate of UMass Boston, Jovita Fontanez was the first Hispanic woman to serve as head of the Boston Election Commission and the first Hispanic woman to be a member of the Electoral College of Massachusetts.

Lewis Finfer