The story of Ben's Bells is rooted in the fabric of Tucson. With more than 200 mosaic murals across the country, including the beautiful one on the Tucson Convention Center, there are visual reminders all over Tucson to Be Kind. But what does that mean? Executive Director Helen Gomez, will tell the origin story of Ben's Bells, explain how they have kept kindness at the forefront and talk about what they are doing to systematically build kinder communities.Biography - Helen Gomez serves as the Executive Director for Ben's Bells, now in her fourth year. As a native Tucsonan, Helen grew up knowing the Ben’s Bells story and the idea of keeping kindness at the forefront has always resonated with her. She loves being able to educate people about the positive impacts of practicing kindness. Her favorite part of her job is to engage with the community and make meaningful connections. Before joining Ben's Bells, Helen held leadership positions at the University of Arizona and the Jewish Community Center but she began her professional career as a high school English teacher after graduating from Pepperdine University. She sits on the boards of the Educational Enrichment Foundation and Downtown Tucson Partnership and over the years has been involved in various capacities, including the Women's Foundation, MOCA, Greater Tucson Leadership, the Junior League of Tucson and The Community Food Bank to name a few. At her core, Helen supports organizations focused on the arts, education and women. She loves to spend as much time as possible with her boys, Brady, 14 and Dylan, 13; her partner Kevin and her dog and queen of the house, Harper.
