“We all trust Diane and appreciate her authenticity and passion for

social justice. She has a consistent message in working with all sectors
in our community, whether focusing on structural
racism or inequality at all levels.”
UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski

DIANE BELL-MCKOY

Racial Equity Advocate

 BIO
Diane Bell-McKoy is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Associated
Black Charities (ABC), a public foundation which focuses on education, policy
design and innovative transactional and transformative strategies to eliminate
the impact of structural racism and its adverse economic outcomes for the
African American community. She came to this role as a well-respected leader
and civil servant focusing on equity and inclusion as the key tools for building
a strong, vibrant economy for all citizens regardless of race. She is known as a
passionate and inspired advocate for moving beyond diversity in an ongoing
battle to make equity and inclusion the central tools for achieving economic
equality for all.

Ms. Bell-McKoy is a graduate of the University of Maryland, both her bachelor’s

and master’s degrees and other post graduate training.

Bell-McKoy launched her public service career in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. region. She joined
Mayor Marion Barry’s public policy office as a team member for “Changing the Odds,” an early partner-
ship with the Rockefeller Foundation and The District of Columbia Government. She served in a number
of other roles in D.C. government
before joining the Baltimore City “Diane’s and ABC’s work on understanding and educating our
Government under the leadership community on the underlying and institutional challenges that
of Mayor Kurt Schmoke. In 1994 perpetuate and further marginalize communities of
she led the launch of the coun- color, is invaluable now as we see firsthand the disparate
try’s most successful Empower- impact this crisis has had on communities of color.”
ment Zone, a federal $100 million
ten-year investment to develop Laura Gamble, PNC Regional President for Greater Maryland
sustained economic and com-
munity development opportunities for residents and businesses in a targeted group of communities in
Baltimore City. Under her leadership the program achieved a return on investment of $15 million dollars.
It was in this role that she achieved greater clarity about the role of structural racism versus the limitation
of “success for a few” as a result of a sustained dollar investment.

She and her team have developed a number of tools for addressing the impact of structural racism and
fostering equity and inclusion to create economic strength for all communities. Through their work at
ABC, Bell-McKoy’s team has authored, led research on, and/or collaborated on a number of well-regarded
research reports, policy papers and recommendations.

In addition to leading ABC, Bell-McKoy is active in the broader community locally and nationally through
extensive board engagement and leadership. She was one of the initial co-leaders for the Baltimore Aspen
Workgroup for Dismantling Structural Racism, a former Trustee for the Baltimore Community Founda-
tion and the former chair for Humanim. Ms. Bell-McKoy has served on the National Policy Council for
AARP. She currently serves on the boards of the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC), Baltimore’s Prom-
ise, and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Maryland Hospital Association (MHA). Finally,
she is most proud of her role as wife, stepmother and grandmother.

DIANE BELL-MCKOY
443.794.2030 | dmckoy@abc-md.org
 BOARD & LEADERSHIP POSITIONS
AARP, National Policy Council
Journey Home Board (Baltimore City)
Greater Baltimore Committee Leadership
Baltimore Community Foundation (Trustee)
Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers (Board member)
Humanim (Board of Directors), Baltimore, MD
Central Management Transportation Alliance (CMTA) Board
Liberian Market Women Fund, International Board for President Sirleaf Johnson
Liberian Market Women Fund, USA Board
University of Maryland Biotech Board of Directors
East Baltimore Development, Inc. Board of Directors
Empower Baltimore Management Corporation Board of Directors
GEDCO Board of Directors, Baltimore, MD
Jobs Opportunity Task Force Board
Downtown Partnership Board of Directors (former), Baltimore, MD
Baltimore City Schools School Board Commissioner (former)

AWARDS & HONORS

Guest Speaker/International Conference on Workforce and Economic Development, 1999
Brussels Germany
Business Leadership, NAACP 2002
Distinguished Alumnae of the Year University of Maryland Baltimore County 2003
Maryland’s Top 100 Women Daily Record 2003
Business Person of the Year, Baltimore Marketing Association 2004
Maryland’s Top 100 Women, Daily Record 2005
Award of Excellence Minority Contractors and Business Association 2008
Top 100 Most Influential Marylanders (Philanthropy), Daily Record 2010
Maryland’s Top 100 Women, Daily Record 2012
Circle of Excellence, Daily Record 2012
Top 100 Most Influential Marylanders (Civic Leadership), Daily Record 2014

DIANE BELL-MCKOY
443.794.2030 | dmckoy@abc-md.org
 PANELS & PUBLICATIONS
“Where the Circles Intersect. Helping Diverse Stakeholders Work Together to Revitalize
Distressed Communities.” Booklet co-written with Janet Levy for Annie E. Casey Foundation, May 2005
“Growing and Sustaining the Middle Class in America’s Older Industrial Cities.” Speech written
and delivered to national foundation group at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Sept 18 2008
“People and Place Cannot Be Co-Equal Strategies.” Written for an Obama Community Development
Advisory Committee, June 9, 2009
“Poverty Analysis for Baltimore and Surrounding Counties.” Baltimore Community Foundation presen-
tation, March 2011
“Opportunities.” WYPR Op Ed, May 10, 2011
“Economic Growth Requires a New Set of Lens” July 2012
“Opportunities” Commencement address, May 2012
Testimony to the MD Legislative Environmental Matters Committee, HB292, Feb. 14, 2012
“Moving out of Poverty: Economic Security Requires Bold Transactional and Transformative
Investments.” Co-written with Dr. Tracy Rone (article unpublished), May 2014
“The Elements of Taking a Stand: An Economic Wake up Call.” (article unpublished), July 2014
“Mike Brown’s Death a Product of America’s Reoccurring Tragedy and We All Have a Role.”
Baltimore Sun Op-ed, August 18, 2014
“Historical Implications of Fair Housing.” Speech written and delivered to Federal Department of Housing
and Community in celebration of Fair Housing Act, April 6, 2016
Testimony in Support of SB40; Maryland Healthy Working Families Act. Maryland Senate,
Senate Finance Committee, March 15, 2016
“From Good to Great Economic Development in Baltimore.” Baltimore Sun Op-ed, August 19, 2016
“Health Inequities.” Speech written and delivered to University of Birmingham, Alabama, October 6, 2017
“Seeing the Unseen.” Unpublished book, December 2017

PRESS MENTIONS
“The Insider: Diane Bell McKoy, President and CEO” BlackGivesBack.com, January 10, 2011
“What College Means to Me” CollegeBound Foundation, December 12, 2014
“Why Couldn’t $130 Million Transform One of Baltimore’s Poorest Places?”
Washington Post, May 2, 2015
“Faces to Watch in 2016” Baltimore Biz Journal, January 1, 2016
“Twenty-Five Women to Watch” Baltimore Sun, 2016
“Stem Solutions” U.S. News Workforce of Tomorrow, May 18, 2016
“An Economic Wake up Call” The Daily Record, August 18, 2016
“Female Trouble: Diane Bell-McKoy,” Baltimore Sun Podcast February 7, 2017
“How to Fix the Health Disparities in the U.S.” The Atlanta, June 20, 2018
“Trailblazer: Diane Bell-McKoy” Maryland Daily Record, Nov 8, 2018
“ABC’s Work to Dismantle Structural Racism” Afro, September 26, 2019

DIANE BELL-MCKOY
443.794.2030 | dmckoy@abc-md.org