Director of External Affairs
John Bell joined the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General in June 2026 as the Director of External Affairs. Previously, John spent over 15 years in other federal government positions, primarily with the Department of War/ Department of Defense. These include Director of Strategic Communications for the Office of the Under Secretary of War (Comptroller/Chief Financial Officer); Strategic Communications Senior Program Manager at the U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-9 (Installations); Deputy Assistant Chief of Information for the Department of the Navy Office of the Chief of Information; and Supervisory Editor for the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General.
Earlier in his career, John worked in communications positions at the Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Acquisition University, and several nonprofit trade associations.