Staff Snapshots | Jim Bell.

Jim Bell

Hometown: I grew up in Tucson, Ariz., surrounded by barrel cactus and mesquite trees. But for the last four decades, it's been all sugar maples and white birch in the Capital District around Albany, N.Y.

Role: Director of Senate Technology Services for the New York Senate.

Years of legislative service: 33, in a variety of IT roles, including 12 years with the Assembly and now 21 years with the Senate.

Skill or talent he's proudest of: "A love of learning new things and the understanding that I don't have a monopoly on good ideas. I'm not sure recognizing and supporting the great people around you counts as a talent, but it's made all the difference for me."

Why did you choose to work at the legislature?

It was mostly good luck. My roommate mentioned there was an opening and I applied on a whim. I had only the fuzziest understanding of how state government worked, but thought it might be fun to take what I imagined would be a very brief career detour.

But once I got here, I was hooked. My first role was helping policy analysts and counsels, and I was as interested in what they were doing as I was in showing them how to set margins in WordPerfect and use the legislative research system. I got to see firsthand how the work happening here makes a difference for everyday people. Senators and staff work incredibly hard to better our state and help our communities, and I'm proud to make a career supporting their efforts.

It's also been fascinating to help our organization make the most of constant advances in technology over the years. From standalone word processors using 8-inch floppy disks and the first tentative steps onto Gopher to the World Wide Web and today's cloud-centric, work-from-anywhere-anytime world, it's been a fascinating journey and it keeps me jazzed to come to work every day.

What's the best advice you were ever given?

"Just try it." I think this advice was originally given at the dinner table in reference to vegetables. But it's stuck with me. It's a shame how many wonderful things people miss out on because they're afraid to take a chance on something new.

Who or what inspires you?

My family. Every day they are my safety net and my jet fuel.

An inspiring thing at work is a painting that hangs outside the Senate chamber. It's of Theodore Roosevelt, then a young Assembly member, chatting with his Senate counterparts in the chamber. Aside from the people, everything looks the same today--same desks, same decor, same...