Speaker's Profile

Bridgette Bell is a 16-year US Army veteran who commissioned in 2004. She found a passion for Psychology while serving in the Army and pivoted from her career as a Human Resources Officer in 2016. Bridgette is now a fifth-year Clinical PsychologyDoctoral Candidate and Intern at the Georgia Regional Hospital – Atlanta. She will return to active duty as a Senior Human Resources Officer in the fall of 2021.

Bridgette has served with the 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade of the XVIII Airborne Corps. the Special Troops Battalion of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. She deployed to Mosul, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2006.She went on to serve as Company Commander for the second largest company in the US Army, the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, United States Army Garrison, Fort Myer, VA. After command, she was honored to serve as the Aide-de-Camp to The 64th Adjutant General of the US Army while assigned at the US Army Human Resources Command (HRC) in Alexandria, VA and Fort Knox, KY. She returned to West Point as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences & Leadership to teach General Psychology and Engineering Psychology. Her most recent military assignment was in the Department of Military Science (ROTC) at Jackson State University, a Historically Black College/University (HBCU) in Jackson, MS.

Bridgette’s life-changing experiences as a Company Commander spurred a greater appreciation for the study of resilience, the human dimension, and mental health services. She completed a Master’s thesis in 2013 on the Army Suicide Prevention Program, then channeled the outcomes of this research while teaching West Point Cadets the power of human-centered design. In 2017, Bridgette was selected to be a Pat Tillman Foundation Military Scholar. As a student of Psychology, Bridgette has completed various research initiatives and served as a student researcher at the Jackson, MS VA Medical Center Trauma Recovery Program. Bridgette is also a contributing author of a chapter for West Point Leadership, an interactive e-textbook recently published for junior-level Cadets at the United States Military Academy. As a mental health innovator, she hopes to specialize in grief, trauma, life preservation, cultural humility, and art interventions. She plans to revolutionize the way the Army uses Psychology to arm, train, and preserve the force.

Bridgette is the founder of Brogans, an effort born out of the notion that community can be just as powerful in providing coping skills as treatment programs. By identifying intersecting needs within the veteran community and recognizing individual strengths can be the pathway to healing, Brogans will fill in gaps that currently exist in the wellness space. Taking these approaches together - while tailoring inventions to meet the needs of the individual – Bridgette aims to give individuals options and families hope. Brogans will provide homelessness prevention services, a uniform recycling program, and art therapy services for veterans and military families.

Bridgette’s education includes a BS in Chemistry and Life Sciences, with a concentration in Computer Science Engineering from the United States MilitaryAcademy, an MBA with a concentration in Healthcare Management from JonesInternational University, and a MS in Human Systems Integration from the NavalPostgraduate School. Bridgette is the recipient of the Adjutant General’s CorpsAssociation COL Robert L. Manning Achievement Medal and the Junior ROCK of the Year award from the Washington DC Chapter of The ROCKS, Inc.

Bridgette is a native of Mississippi and a fourth-generation US Army Soldier. She prides herself in being a Co-Founder of Do More Together, the West Point Association ofGraduates Black & African American Alumni Organization; an active member of AlphaKappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, and an active member of The ROCKS, Inc.