About the Speaker
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    Karen Brinson Bell
    Executive Director, N.C. State Board of Elections

    Karen Brinson Bell has served as executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections since June 2019. She has worked in elections administration since 2006 in county, state, and national roles. As North Carolina’s chief elections official, she leads about 65 full-time employees at the state agency, which is charged with administering elections and campaign finance compliance, overseeing the 100 county boards of elections, and ensuring voting for more than 7 million voters.

    Karen was born and raised in Kenansville in Duplin County, N.C., where her father was mayor. In 1996, she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Asheville, with a double major in mass communication and political science.