At LIFT Ben leads the overall development, strategy and growth in Chicago. He formed and leads LIFT-Chicago’s Regional Advisory Board and oversees client service programming by directly supervising the Regional Program Manager and supporting the work of LIFT-Chicago’s Site Coordinators and volunteer advocates.
Ben LIFTs because of his steadfast belief in human potential. Furthermore volunteerism has been hard-wired into Ben’s DNA by his family (his father founded the renowned volunteer-driven Wallace Medical Concern in Portland, Oregon when Benwas seven years old).
Ben is a Licensed Social Worker with nearly 15 years of direct service and non-profit management experience. Prior to coming to LIFT Ben provided mental health assessment and treatment to individuals living on the South Side of Chicago; conducted policy research for the City of Chicago Mayor's Office; worked at a shelter for runaway and homeless teenagers and spent five years with LifeWorks NW in Portland, Oregon conducting outreach and home visits to families referred by the State of Oregon's Child Welfare Hotline. At LifeWorks NW Ben also supported the HERO program which offered free, psycho-educational groups to children who witnessed domestic violence. In 2007 Ben received a human rights grant from the University of Chicago to travel to Namibia to support UNICEF with initiatives aimed at combating violence against women and children. This was Ben’s third time in Namibia, a country he holds dear to his heart. Ben earned his Masters degree from the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration and Bachelors degree in Comparative Sociology from the University of Puget Sound.
