Chris Owens, son of my former Conrgessman and friend of the Daily Gotham editors, has landed a great sounding job and one he seems well suited for. He is NY Regional director for Building Educated Leaders for Life (BELL), an organization that provides after school programs for children. BELL describes their work as follows:

BELL, founded in 1992, is one of the nation’s leading providers of quality after-school and summer educational programs. It is committed to enhancing the educational achievements, self-esteem, and life opportunities of children living in low-income, urban communities. BELL serves more than 10,000 children annually in public schools throughout Baltimore, Boston, and New York City.

Heard some time back Chris had landed a great job for an educational organization, but didn't get the details until DG got a press release from BELL. From the BELL press release:

Chris Owens joins BELL as Regional Director, New York, overseeing an operation that provides afterschool and summer school tutoring for students in schools in Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn. Owens is a past President of Brooklyn’s innovative Community School Board 13, on which he served for six years during the 1990s. He also brings a wealth of management experience in the private, public and non-profit sectors. He was a senior administrator for 12 years with AmeriChoice, a health organization servicing low-income residents of New York City, and served as Special Assistant to former City Council President Andrew Stein for nearly four years. As Board Chairman for five consecutive years, Owens led the financial turnaround of the Weeksville Heritage Center (also known as “the Weeksville Society”), a historic preservation organization now building a new education center in Central Brooklyn. Owens has been active in numerous other community-based and issue-oriented organizations and initiatives focused on education, health care access, economic development and immigration.

Gets back to why I always liked Chris...he does his part for the community, making him what I call a Community Candidate. I know Chris is excited and enthusiastic about this job. Heard various rumors as to what this means for his political interests. On the one hand he will be very busy doing good things through BELL. On the other hand, there is still lots of work to be done in Brooklyn and some good Community Candidates are always welcome.

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