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The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) has hired two individuals to oversee diversity and multicultural issues. The agency appointed Johnell Bell director of diversity and transit equity and Martin Gonzalez, multicultural program manager, a newly created position.

Bell will be responsible for ensuring services and infrastructure are “equitably distributed and accessible to diverse cultural, racial and economic communities throughout the agency’s service area,” TriMet officials said in a prepared statement. He also will oversee the agency’s minority contracting efforts.

Bell most recently worked for U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), for whom Bell focused on issues of diversity, community and government relations and environmental justice.

A TriMet employee since 2007, Gonzalez will continue developing TriMet’s English proficiency program and provide leadership on internal and external issues related to cultural competency, including education, communications, and staff and management training. Prior to joining TriMet, he was executive director of the Portland Schools Alliance.

Meanwhile, Frederick Daniels Jr., treasurer of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), has been elected secretary of the American Public Transportation Association’s Board Members Committee. He will help lead the committee to identify and implement professional development opportunities, education resources and peer exchanges for transit board members.