Desiree Peterkin Bell is a public servant, wife, mother, and mentor. As a strategic planner, brand strategist, and savvy public administrator, Peterkin Bell has transformed the City of Newark’s image in the public domain and helped shine a national spotlight on the City of Newark and the best of the City's innovations.

Peterkin Bell has served as the Director of Communications for the City of Newark, New Jersey, since 2006. Leading a team of 10, she has built an award- winning twenty-first century multi-platform communications network for the City where one did not previously exist.

As a result of the relationships she cultivated with international, national, regional, and local media, Peterkin Bell helped effect change in the tone and substance of the dialogue about how the City of Newark, New Jersey, is transforming itself from a symbol of national urban decline to “America’s leading urban city in safety, prosperity, and the nurturing of family life.” Also, as a result of her leadership, the City implemented more effective mechanisms for constituents to engage with City government and hold it accountable. In 2009, the New Jersey League of Municipalities recognized Peterkin Bell’s leadership and named the City’s Office of Communications as the “Best City Office of Communications in New Jersey.”

Peterkin Bell’s specific accomplishments include positive articles in over 4,000 print, electronic and broadcast stories covering the Mayor, the City, and senior city leadership. She also orchestrated the placement of major features and stories about the City and the Mayor in the New York Times, Esquire Magazine, the New Yorker Magazine, VIBE Magazine, EBONY, Essence, Time Magazine, and appearances on nationally syndicated shows like Bill Maher, Meet the Press and the OPRAH show.

In addition to her work with external media channels, Peterkin Bell has been instrumental in bringing change inside City Hall. She created the Mayor’s cablevision show highlighting administrative priorities and initiatives, reaching an estimated weekly viewership of over 100,000 homes. She also oversaw the construction and launch of the City’s first government access television station, Channel 78, a project that had been stalled for over 10 years.

Honored as one of the industry’s best and brightest in PR Week’s 40 under 40, Peterkin Bell regularly strives to identify, create and leverage new media. Under her leadership, the Office of Communications launched the Newark Tech Group, a working group of technology sector founders and executives who are teaming with the City to activate and amplify social Web audiences. Designees from Twitter, Facebook, Google, Apple, LinkedIn, Ning, Ustream, Causes and Seesmic, have joined the working group to harness new media platforms, experiences and connections to elevate local, national and global engagement with Newark’s residents.

Prior to joining Mayor Booker's team, Peterkin Bell served New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as Senior Director of Government Affairs for the City’s marketing development corporation, NYC Marketing. In this role, she developed and implemented strategies and platforms to secure multimillion dollar partnerships and sponsorships for the City with General Motors, Universal Studios, Country Music Awards, The Latin Grammy’s, and international cities, such as London, Amsterdam, and Dusseldorf, Germany.

Before her marketing role with the City, Peterkin Bell served as an advocate for the Bloomberg Administration in matters before the 51-member City Council. While in this role, she shepherded three historic pieces of legislation through to final passage and public law: the New York City Smoke Free Air Act of 2002, Tort Reform and the Film Tax Credit.

After a brief stint in Washington, D.C, working on a range of public policy issues, the National Urban Fellows Program awarded Peterkin Bell a full scholarship toward a Master’s in Public Administration, which she completed in 2002. As a National Urban Fellow, Mayor Bart Peterson, Indianapolis, Indiana, selected Peterkin Bell to serve in his Administration addressing community engagement, economic development, education, strategic governance, and affordable housing issues.

Mrs. Peterkin Bell is an alumna of the A Better Chance program and a graduate of Swarthmore College where she majored in Political Science and Education and received the Dean’s Award for outstanding academic achievement and exemplary community service. In addition, Desiree excelled in athletics as a five-time National Collegiate Athletic Association All-American in track and field.

A special part of Peterkin Bell's vocation includes mentoring minority students. 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, like hers are modest, encouraging them to break through boundaries and barriers to determine the path toward their goals.

Peterkin Bell lives in Newark with her husband and daughter.

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