Spotlight: Sandra Coles-Bell, Executive Director - NBSC

Sandra Coles-Bell was born in Tacoma, Washington, grew up in Baltimore, and moved to Washington, DC, when she was 12, so she considers herself a “Baltitonian.” She resides in Takoma Park, a suburb of Washington, DC, so she has come full circle from Tacoma to Takoma Park.She was baptized at three months old at the family’s Josephite Parish of St. Peter’s Claver in Baltimore. She attended Catholic school from 1st through 7th grade in Balti-

more before moving to Washington, DC, and graduating from the Academy of Our Lady High School.

She continues to travel to Baltimore for her crabs and crab cakes! Sandra is the oldest child, has one sister who is 7 years younger, and resides in Baltimore County. She is the mother of three children and has three grandchildren; although motherhood has brought her great joy, it has also brought her deep sorrow as one of her daughters passed away suddenly at the age of 21 due to a fatal asthma attack.

Sandra uncovered her true Catholic identity in college when she woke up one Sunday morning while attending Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and drove to the nearest town to find a Catholic church and attend mass. She has faithfully attended mass since then. She fastens her faith and trust in God to her maternal grandmother, who raised her in the church via Friday night novenas, followed by bingo.

Sandra holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Lincoln University and a Master of Administration from the University of Maryland’s University College, now called the University of Maryland Global Campus. She had a career in medical technology, where she holds a Specialist in Blood Banking (SBB) from the American

Association of Blood Banks and the American Society of Clinical Pathology. After graduating from their SBB program, she studied and worked at the National Institutes of Health’s Department of Transfusion Medicine, where her graduation research paper was submitted for publication in the Journal of Transfusion Medicine as the first author. She has published several other scientific papers during her time at NIH.

After continuing her career in transfusion medicine at Children’s National Medical Center Blood Bank, she entered administration. She was the director of two inner-city primary healthcare clinics for Children’s National Medical Center. There, she was instrumental in turning the free clinics into Medicaid Managed Care or low-cost healthcare facilities for children. She left Children’s to run the initial HealthChoice Program for the state of Maryland.

Sandra Coles Bell has been an avid member of Toastmasters for over 33 years. After serving in leadership twice, she currently serves as an advisor, trainer, and mentor to current leaders. She credits her membership in Toastmasters with her ability to communicate eƯectively.

Sandra has been the executive director of the NBSC for four years. She joined NBSC after a career at the Archdiocese of Washington, where she was the Program Director in the Office of Cultural Diversity. She has represented NBSC on the LCWR Board and two committees in these four years. She has also been a very effective speaker on behalf of NBSC.

As a Catholic woman, Sandra has fully participated in her church. She is a graduate of the Trinity College Education for Parish Service, a now-defunct program designed to assist Catholics in learning about their faith deeply with an effort to be more assertive assistants to their pastors if needed. She presently makes a 6-to-10-day silent retreat annually and practices daily meditation and journaling to anchor her internal world to hear the beckoning of the Spirit. She is a lector at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, where she is called upon to serve at widely televised and taped liturgies, for example, the Rosary with the Pope during COVID and has been asked to serve as a lector for the upcoming installation of Robert Cardinal McElroy on March 11th. Sandra has organized our oƯice and brought some of us kicking and screaming into the 21st Century with up-to-date technology.

She continues to want to increase the profile of the NBSC and its members, who are vital in their individual histories. In her words, “It’s a book-turned-movie in the making!”