James Bell, Executive Director

Contact Information: James Bell Executive Director W. Haywood Burns Institute Phone: 415-321-4100 x101 Fax: 415-321-4140 E-mail: jbell@burnsinstitute.org

James Bell is the Founder and Executive Director of the W. Haywood Burns Institute. James oversees all aspects of the Institute. He is a national leader in devising and implementing strategies to remedy the disproportionality of young people of color in the juvenile justice system. James leads the BI's intensive work in nine local sites to reduce the overrepresentation of youth of color in their juvenile justice systems. He also guides the BI's Community Justice Network for Youth, a national network of programs working successfully with young people of color.

In addition, James focuses on the issues that uniquely impact young people of color, such as the juvenile death penalty, mental health matters and "zero tolerance" in school discipline. Finally, James has extensive experience in the international juvenile justice arena: he assisted the African National Congress in the administration of the juvenile justice system in South Africa; worked with Palestinians and Israelis on alternatives to juvenile incarceration; trained government officials and activists on the human rights of children in Cambodia, Kenya, Brazil and France; and worked closely on restorative justice policy with officials in New Zealand and Australia.

Prior to founding the Burns Institute, James served as a Staff Attorney at the Youth Law Center in San Francisco for over 20 years, representing incarcerated youth. James is the recipient of a Kellogg National Leadership Fellowship, the Livingstone Hall Award for Outstanding Juvenile Advocacy from the American Bar Association, the Clinton White Attorney of the Year Award from the Charles Houston Bar Association, the Advocate of the Year from the Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Moral Leadership Against Injustice Award from the Delancey Street Foundation.