Skip to main content
Browse by:
GROUP

Engaging the Middle East: Challenges & Opportunities

the event flyer with Benjamin Orbach's headshot on a grey background
Thursday, January 23, 2025
6:00 pm
Benjamin Orbach
Bass Connections Project: Learning from The Middle East: Tolerance and Suffering Presents:

Benjamin Orbach is the founder and CEO of The Ascendant Athlete, an advisory group that supports professional athletes to achieve a sustainable social impact. Ben has supported his clients in advancing cultural and legislative change on social justice issues that range from getting out the vote and preventing gun violence to developing communities that are inclusive and open to all.

Prior to starting up The Ascendant Athlete, Ben founded America's Unofficial Ambassadors, a soft power, citizen diplomacy initiative that increased the number of U.S. citizens who volunteer in the Muslim World. Ben developed partnerships with schools and NGOs in nine countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia that enabled volunteers to complete short-term service while building mutual understanding. He also worked as Creative Associates International's first Country Director in Palestine, where he led the implementation of a small grant program that supported mayors, local councils, and other leaders to increase civic engagement among youth and housewives in villages and refugee camps. From 2004-2007, Ben served as the U.S. Department of State's Deputy Regional Coordinator for the Middle East Partnership Initiative, where he designed democratic reform programs in the Middle East and North Africa.

Ben has an MA from Johns Hopkins University (SAIS) and a BA from the University of Michigan. He is the author of "Live from Jordan"(Amacom Books, 2007), a post-9/11 travelogue about the United States and the Arab World, and was a participant in the 2015 White House Summit for Countering Violent Extremism and term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He served with the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps in Colorado and Texas. A Pittsburgh native, Ben lives in Washington DC with his wife and two children.

When: January 23, 6:00pm
Where: Ahmadieh Family Conference Hall (Smith Warehouse, Bay 4, C105)