About Alisha Bell

Alisha Bell is Chair of the Wayne County Commission in Michigan. She was first elected to the Commission in November 2002 as the youngest African American woman in the country to serve on a County Commission.

Commissioner Bell grew up in the Wayne County Commission's 7th District, which covers part of Detroit's far west side. She is a graduate of Detroit’s Cass Technical High School and received her bachelor's degree in business administration from Florida A&M University, graduating cum laude. She also earned a master's degree in education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She and her husband, Kranston Young, have a son, Kranston II, and a daughter, Morgan. She is the daughter of James and Edna Bell and has a younger sister, Sonja Johnson.

Recently, Commissioner Bell made the list of the Michigan Chronical’s Power 50: Celebrating the Most Influential African Americans in Southeast Michigan.

National Association of Counties Engagement

  • Current Vice Chair of LUCC

  • Current Vice Chair of Justice and Public Safety Committee

  • CLI Class of 2015

  • Past Chair Justice and Public Safety Committee

  • Presidential Appointee to the NACo Board under 5 NACo Presidents

  • Past President, Natl. Association of Black County Officials

  • Past President, Women of NACo

  • Past Credentials Chair

  • Past Tally Clerk

  • Founding Member and Past Executive Board member of NextGen NACo

  • Class of 2018 Women in Government Leadership Program

Local Community Engagement

  • Vice Chair, The Detroit Recovery Project

  • Chair, Wayne County Zoological Authority

  • Chair, Wayne County HealthChoice

  • Board Member, The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy

  • Board Member Boys and Girls Club of SE Michigan

  • Board Member Wayne Metro Community Action Agency

  • Board Member of the Michigan Environmental Council

  • Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

  • Member, Jack and Jill of America Inc.

  • Past Chair, National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence

  • Past Board Member, The Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority

  • Past Volunteer, Junior Achievement

  • Founder and Charter President, The Metro Detroit Optimist Club

Career Highlights

  • Initiated a resolution denouncing the practice of racial profiling

  • Introduced school officials to the Wayne Country Reality Tour program, which helps deter youth from criminal behavior

  • Secured over $1 million for parks in her district

  • Introduced an ordinance establishing a Wayne County Health Department program to test for lead in youth

  • Initiated the Stepping Up resolution which diverts people with mental illness and substance use disorder from jails and into treatment

  • Co-Lead the Wayne County Behavioral Health Initiative

  • Led efforts to keep commission meetings available to the public via Zoom

  • Led efforts to provide financial assistance to county businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic

  • Founder of the Wayne County Women’s Commission

Michigan Chronical Power 50

Watch Commissioner Bell’s Michigan Chronical Power 50 interview. The Power 50 honors outstanding entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, faith leaders, community advocates, labor leaders, political figures, non-profit leaders, and law enforcement officials who have made significant contributions to the African American community.