Ben Bisbee

Ben has spent the majority of his career as a multi-sector leader with almost 30 years of experience building successful and award-winning volunteer management, community engagement, public programs, corporate social responsibility, JED&I, and fundraising & development programs as a leader, consultant, or volunteer.

He prides himself as a social good nerd and what he calls the “good kind of dangerous” when making tough, complex, and magical things happen in the nonprofit and social good sectors. He’s led teams or been a high-ranking consultant at organizations such as: the American Red Cross, Apple, No Kid Hungry, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, ALSAC, Cleaning for a Reason, TEDxAkron, Ronald McDonald House, AT&T, First Book, NTEN, AmeriCorps, 4-H, The United Nations, The Aspen Institute, ProLiteracy, and others.

His prior company, Rhinocorn Consulting, helped to build programs that raised hundreds of millions of dollars for clients, engaged thousands of volunteers, placed dozens of talented employees, and designed scores of departmental, organizational, and public program models of success for nonprofits and for-profits alike.

As a neurodivergent, queer, bi-racial cis man, Ben is a proud member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, and lives in Northeast Ohio with his husband Joe of 20 years and their ten cats. Yes ten, don’t judge him. Ben joined Cooper Colemen in 2024, excited to provide dynamic executive search for the nonprofit and social good sectors, two areas Ben knows well and are often united in passion and purpose to make the world a better place.

As a passionate social, civic, and political activist himself, Ben serves in a variety of volunteer and paid leadership roles supporting organizations and committees focused on cultural, JEDI, political, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ issues and topics. He’s the Owner and co-leader of TEDxAkron, a Founding Member of IMPACT2030, a United Nations Sustainable Development Goals corporate coalition, a member of his local and the national LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce, a member of Native Americans in Philanthropy, and currently serves on several local and international boards.

Ben is also a published author and editor, who has written several award-winning industry and fiction books. His first book, The Unashamed Guide to Virtual Management, a pre-pandemic Amazon bestseller, published by ATD Press that presents playful yet straightforward answers to critical questions about how to manage virtual teams. He was also the lead profile interviewer and writer of The Gaingels 100, a book featuring 100 LGBTQIA+ global entrepreneurs and founders, which won several international literary and recognition awards. He has also been proudly published in various professional and business outlets such as Candid, GuideStar, Zoetic Press, Wild Apricot, Moonflake Press, Thrive Global, The Huffington Post, VolunteerMatch, Forbes, and many others.

Ben and his husband love to travel, hike, stream video games live, work on their 100-year-old Tutor home, and eat their way through endless restaurants and cities.

Education:
Bachelor of Arts, Interdisciplinary Studies – The Catholic University of America