Bedarius Bell Jr., originally from Gainesville, GA, is the State Coordinator of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services for the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services (ADRS). He began working for ADRS in 1998 as a Rehabilitation Counselor for the Deaf. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. He has been instrumental in expanded deaf services in Alabama by adding new VR staff positions for audiologists, staff interpreters, and Deaf Support Specialists. Bedarius has partnered with the National Weather Service and the Department of Public Health to provide emergency preparedness training and free emergency kits and weather radios to the deaf community throughout Alabama. 

He serves on the board of ADARA and the Southwest Collegiate Institute for the Deaf (SWCID) in Texas. Bedarius is a past president of the Alabama Association of Multicultural Rehabilitation Concerns (AAMRC), a state chapter of a division within the National Rehabilitation Association. An avid photographer, Bedarius enjoys traveling and being outdoors.