Hope is not a Strategy: Insights from the Advocates

Jamey Bell has been Executive Director of Greater Hartford Legal Aid since 2013, and has over 40 years of experience as an attorney and policy advocate in the areas of health care access, education, and child welfare. She serves on various organizations and boards including the CBA House of Delegates, CT Access to Justice Commission, and the CT Dental Health Partnership’s Dental Policy Advisory Committee.

Previously, she was the Child Advocate for the State of Connecticut and the Executive Director of Connecticut Voices for Children. She was an attorney at GHLA for 26 years, where she was lead counsel in successful federal class action litigation to require the Connecticut Department of Social Services to provide adequate dental care to families in the Medicaid program.

Jamey Bell has a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a J.D. degree from Northeastern University School of Law.

Liz Bryden, LCSW, has served as the Chief of Operations at Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Hartford since 2020, overseeing program operations throughout Hartford, New Haven and Litchfield counties. These programs include behavioral health clinics, senior centers, early childhood education programs, day programs and group homes for individuals with developmental disabilities, family centers, home visiting programs, afterschool programs, and supportive housing. Prior to joining Catholic Charities, Liz was a Senior Vice President for 18 years at The Village for Families and Children, leading a continuum of programs that included foster care, adoption, in-home clinical services, residential treatment, private special education school, and a multi-site extended day treatment program. She received her Masters of Social Work degree from Rhode Island College and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Rochester.

Attorney Judith Stein is Senior Advisor of the Center for Medicare Advocacy, which she founded in 1986. She was Executive Director of the Center until July 2024. She has focused on legal representation of older people since beginning her legal career in 1975. From 1977 until 1986, Ms. Stein was the Co-Director of Legal Assistance to Medicare Patients (LAMP) where she managed the first Medicare advocacy program in the country. She has extensive experience in developing and administering Medicare and related advocacy projects and conferences, representing Medicare beneficiaries, producing educational materials, teaching and consulting. She has been lead or co-counsel in numerous federal class action and individual cases challenging improper Medicare policies and denials – including, Jimmo vs. Sebelius, which is opening doors to Medicare coverage and access to care for people with longer-term and chronic conditions. Ms. Stein graduated cum laude from Williams College and received her law degree with honors from Catholic University School of Law.