Ellyne Bell for School Board 2010

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          About Ellyne                                                                                CONNECT WITH ELLYNE
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          Ellyne has been in the work of education and social justice since her years in college
          in the 1980’s. She graduated from Davis and Elkins College in Elkins West Virginia in
          1985 with a BA in Sociology and Anthropology. Her senior symposium was on
          liberation theology in Latin America and her senior project on the effects of
          pornography on violence against women and children. Ellyne worked as a counselor
          in 8 rural high schools for Upward Bound and Educational Talent Search after college
          where she worked with at-risk students. She then attended graduate school in library
          and information science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and tutored
          NCAA football and basketball players in English, History, Biology, and Chemistry.
          Ellyne also worked part time as an Artist in Residence at her alma mater in West
          Virginia teaching modern dance for the Theater Department.

          In 1991, Ellyne received her MA in Theology from the Lutheran Theological Seminary
          in Gettysburg, PA. Ellyne was a student of the larger Washington DC Theological
          Consortium where there were opportunities to explore social issues in multiple faith
          traditions. She did her thesis on women’s experiences of sin and grace in Christian
          theology. After seminary, Ellyne worked part time for the Episcopal Church creating
          alternative religious ceremonies and services that encompassed other faith traditions
          and the diverse understandings of the Divine nature. She also became the executive
          director of a domestic violence and sexual assault center—a work which continued
          for over a decade.

          In 1996, Ellyne received her Masters in Social Work license through the State of
          Iowa. She worked for 5 years (1992-1997) with victims of sexual assault, domestic
          violence, and child abuse as a therapist and assigned other therapists to work with
          families in their homes. In 1998, Ellyne went back to being an executive director and
          moved to California in early 2001, to become the executive director of the domestic
          violence coalition for the state. Ellyne was on the Attorney General’s Task Force on
          Domestic Violence in 2005 and on the HHS Human Trafficking Task Force with
          several other state domestic violence coalitions from 2003-2005. Ellyne was invited
          to the White House to represent California during Domestic Violence Awareness
          Month in 2004. She was also the California representative to the National Network to
          End Domestic Violence for 4 years.

          In 2008, Ellyne became the Executive Director of Wind Youth Services, a local
          Sacramento organization that serves homeless, street, and at risk youth throughout
          the region. Wind has a school, a shelter, a day center, and an active outreach
          program that works with all the area school districts on behalf of marginalized and at-
          risk youth. Ellyne is also one of the founders of the SECT Collaborative, a community
          collaboration of several organizations working on the issue of sexually exploited
          children and teens.

          Ellyne was elected to the Sacramento City Unified School District in 2006. She ran



http://www.bellforschoolboard.org/about-ellyne[10/03/2010 8:22:53 AM]
About Ellyne | Ellyne Bell for School Board


          for the office as a parent advocate who was discouraged by the education that her
          children had received. Her commitment has been to increase educational
          opportunities for all children with an emphasis on the arts, libraries and replicating
          successful programs. She is also a proponent of accountability in governance and
          measurable results for our school district. For the past two years, Ellyne has held
          leadership positions on the board and is the current President of the Sacramento City
          School District board.

          Ellyne lived in midtown for 8 years, but now lives in Land Park. Her two children are
          now grown. She is a practitioner and teacher of yoga, as well as a lifelong dancer.
          She has also had a lifelong commitment to issues of social justice and creating a
          better world.




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