Darcel Russell is the Deputy Federal Secretary of the Australian Education Union (AEU), a position she was elected to in January 2006. Darcel began work with the AEU in July 2001 as the Federal Aboriginal Education Officer. Darcel is a Goori woman from Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), in the land and seas of the Quandamooka (Moreton Bay) people, off the South East coast of Queensland.

Before working with the AEU, Darcel was the manager of the Indigenous Studies Product Development Unit, TAFE Queensland. The unit's primary responsibilities included the development of accredited training programs specifically for Indigenous peoples, and the development of a range of print-based and multi-media resources to support the delivery of these programs. Darcel began her working life as a classroom teacher at Mabel Park State School in Brisbane and worked extensively in curriculum and instructional design. She also worked as a teacher-coordinator for the Remote Area Teacher Education Program (RATEP) in Kowanyama, Western Cape York.

Darcel is passionate about the powers of unionism and public education as tools for increasing opportunities and promoting social justice and change.