Events

Don Bell currently serves as Vice Chair of the East Hartford Town Council. Don was elected in November 2019 as part of the largest Council change in a generation. Don also serves as Assistant Director for Career Development at the University of Connecticut School of Law. Prior to this position, Don was the Director of the Black Talent Initiative at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. In this role, Don worked to increase diversity and inclusion among policymakers in Congress. Don worked in the United
 States Senate as a legal fellow to Senator Chris Murphy, judiciary staffer to Senator Richard Blumenthal, and associate counsel then counsel to the
 US Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. As a Senate staffer, Don was elected president of the Senate Black Legislative Staff Caucus (SBLSC). During his term, he conducted a groundbreaking census of Black Senate staffers and led a movement to
 make Congress more representative of America.
 This work drew national attention to the pervasive lack of diversity among Congressional staffers and the urgent need to increase representation for all communities. Don’s work and commentaries have been recognized by the New York Times, Washington Post, USA
   Today, ABC News and other local and national outlets.
    Don is a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law and graduated from the University of Connecticut as an Honors Scholar. He currently serves as a Delegate to the Connecticut Bar Association (CBA) House of Delegates, member of the CBA Diversity &
 Inclusion Committee, and member of the CBA Rule of Law Committee

   Ashley Holmer
Founding Executive Director, Red Sweater Project CEO, Red Rhino Tours
Red Sweater Project is a non-profit organization that collaborates with developing communities in rural Tanzania to create affordable, accessible, and innovative opportunities for secondary education where it currently doesn’t exist for the majority of children.
Providing world-class tours to East Africa’s vast renowned wildlife destinations, Red Rhino Tours, LLC operates to provide visitors with both a unique view into life in rural Tanzania and as a sustainable solution in support of the organization’s mission.
Despite recent economic growth in Tanzania, the country remains economically depressed as rural areas continue to suffer from a lack of access to sustainable income-generating opportunities. Only a small fraction of families are able to afford to send their children to public secondary school (U.S. middle and high school equivalent), with private school out of reach for all but the wealthiest families. Partnering with local leaders, Red Sweater Project adopts a holistic approach to addressing the diverse needs of at- risk children. In 2012, Red Sweater Project broke ground in Mungere Village on the community's first secondary school, which has grown in a few short years to support more than 200 students and families. The school offers basic health services with health-based education, access to safe water and sanitation, sustainably-designed infrastructure and an organic school garden.
Founded by Ashley Holmer in 2011, the organization and investing safari tour company have become a model for other international development programs seeking to create partnerships that honor tradition and local leadership, encourage sustainability, and recognize education as a crucial step in interrupting the cycle of generational poverty. Having lived and worked in Africa since 2005 and fluent in Swahili, Holmer speaks about life in the land of Serengeti, education in the developing world, the rights of women and girls, and how tribes like the vibrant Maasai and its staunch traditions are heading toward an unknown future.
Ms. Holmer holds a BA in Psychology from Willamette University. She is a recipient of the university’s Distinguished Alumni Citation and was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame for Women’s Soccer. Ashley has been featured on Voice of America, Zero to Travel, has garnered the support of the Portland Timbers Football Club of Major League Soccer (MLS), and has been featured in The Rotary Magazine.
     
Also see Page 17 Rotary Magazine March 2021 issue.

Chris Spear biked 3,000 miles coast to coast, to raise money for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute / Jimmy Fund, as part of the Pan Mass Challenge, the largest athletic fundraiser in the world.