User:WWB Too/Colleen Bell

Colleen Bradley Bell (born January 30, 1967) is the United States Ambassador to Hungary. She is an American television producer known for her work on The Bold and the Beautiful. Bell is also a philanthropist and advocate for the environment, arts and social issues. Prior to assuming the ambassadorship on January 21, 2015, Bell lived with her family in Los Angeles, California.

Early life and education
Bell (née Bradley) was born in 1967 in Evanston, Illinois, to Sheila, an interior designer, and Edward Bradley, a lawyer. Bell studied economics and political science at Sweet Briar College in Sweet Briar, Virginia, where she graduated in 1989 with a bachelor's degree. She studied international relations during her junior year abroad at University of St Andrews in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Following college, Bell began working for Bell-Phillip Television Productions in Los Angeles.

Producing career
Bell's television career began in 1991 at Bell-Phillip Television, the production company for the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Bell served in various roles for the show, including as an associated producer, script supervisor and director of special projects. As the special projects director in 2011, Bell led a project to overhaul and update all the fashion on the show, which focuses on two rival fashion houses. She became a full producer of the series in 2012. As producer, Bell was named three times in Daytime Emmy Award nominations when The Bold and the Beautiful was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Advocacy and political involvement
Bell has been active in advocacy and philanthropy during her career. In 2007, Bell visited Washington, D.C., to lobby Congress on global warming as part of a delegation from the Leadership Council, a Los Angeles County group focused on environmental issues.

Bell was named to President Barack Obama's Advisory Committee on the Arts in 2010. In 2011, she was elected as the group's chair. Obama appointed Bell to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Board of Trustees in 2012. Additionally, she has served as trustee of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles Music Center, vice chair of the Children's Institute Inc. and member of UCLA Rape Treatment Center's advisory board.

Bell is also active with the Democratic Party. She served as an at-large delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. As a "bundler", Bell helped raise more than $2.1 million for Obama's 2012 presidential campaign throughout 2011 and 2012. In February 2012, Bell and her husband, The Bold and the Beautiful executive producer and head writer Bradley Phillip Bell, hosted a fundraiser for Obama at their home with actor Will Ferrell and his wife, Viveca Paulin. The event featured a speech by the president and a short concert by the Foo Fighters and was attended by approximately 1,000 people.

Ambassadorship
On November 6, 2013, President Obama nominated Bell as Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis' successor to the ambassadorship to Hungary. The Senate confirmed Bell in a 52-42 vote on December 2, 2014. Bell's nomination was opposed by Republicans. The most vocal critic was Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain, of Arizona, who questioned Bell's qualifications for the role. Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat, responded to support Bell, noting her intelligence and ability to "make friends".

Bell was sworn in on December 16, 2014. On January 19, 2015, Bell arrived to her post in Budapest, marking the end of a year-and-a-half absence of an American ambassador in Hungary. Predecessor Kounalakis left the post in July 2013. Bell presented her credentials to President János Áder of Hungary on January 21, 2015.

In February 2015, Bell signed a deal that, when approved by both countries' lawmakers, would end dual taxation of U.S. and Hungarian citizens. Speaking at an event held by the American Chamber of Commerce that month, Bell told a forum that transparency and predictability regarding Hungarian laws and regulations are needed to attract U.S. investors to the country. In her post, Bell has also publicly spoken in support of Ukrainian sovereignty amid conflict between Hungary's northeastern neighbor and Russia. Bell made her remarks to diplomats from NATO member states and Ukraine as President Vladimir Putin of Russia visited Budapest.

As the European migrant crisis unfolded, Hungary saw the largest spike of migrants per capita from January to June 2015. By October 2015, Hungary had blocked off its southern borders with Serbia and Croatia to counter the influx of migrants. Bell spoke in the press on September 30, 2015, that her office had been in contact with the Hungarian government, NGOs and the public regarding the matter since she first entered the country. In addition to information sharing and logistical help, her office gave directly to organizations such as the Hungarian Red Cross. While acknowledging that Hungary's sovereignty allows the country to choose how to secure its borders, she stated that the U.S. "promote [s] the humane treatment of refugees". She was also critical of the "anti-immigration rhetoric" in the media, stating that it "doesn't represent the Hungarian people".

On October 28, 2015, Bell delivered her first "major" speech at Corvinus University of Budapest, where she repeated her criticism of xenophobia toward refugees in Hungary, as well as being critical of the Hungarian government. During her remarks, Bell criticized Hungary's government for corruption, lack of transparency, crackdowns on NGOs and the free press. Her speech drew rebuffs from Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, cabinet chief János Lázár and Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó. Bell's speech raised her profile in the international political community and the Hungarian Free Press reported she had won the support of the Hungarian-American community.

Personal life
On October 4, 1991, Bell married Bradley Phillip Bell at Athanasius Roman Catholic Church in Evanston, Illinois. The Bells have four children and live in Los Angeles in the Holmby Hills neighborhood.