Ben Gardner

Profile

I’m Ben and I love meeting people, sharing ideas, and learning new things. I often find myself questioning common narratives about the world. I love to engage in conversations that help me to know someone and learn something new. 

And I love most things about the water — being in it, on it and around it. Growing up in Miami, Florida, I was able to spend time on the water with family and friends, and now living in the Pacific Northwest, the Salish Sea is an ever present reminder of the water’s importance for our lives and livelihoods. 

When I was younger, I led many outdoor and international educational programs. I love working with young people in a hands-on setting and seeing how their knowledge and confidence grows. 

I’m a professor at the University of Washington Bothell, where I get to interact with many amazing people from my colleagues, to my students to collaborators in research.

I came to academia after understanding many of the world’s problems were a product of biased narratives and discourses.

I hoped that researching, teaching and collaborating to challenge dominant discourses would contribute to positive change. 

My research examines how communities and grassroots activists fight against powerful companies and states to secure their rights and dignity. I am constantly amazed and emboldened by the tireless work of everyday people and leaders who take great risks to challenge the status quo.

I am motivated to by engaging with others and hope that I can share knowledge, tactics and clear eyed optimism to people in pursuit of their life goals.

As a teacher I am privileged to be in a position to mentor and guide my students as they navigate school and life, such as asking questions that help them go beyond everyday discourses of citizenship. 

I love teaching as it helps me to better understand the issues I am interested in and provides a constant source of debate and dialogue. I am especially excited when students see their own experience reflected in the material, often empowering them to recognize themselves as experts in a field that they once felt marginalized by. 

As a professor and leader in higher education, I enjoy supporting my colleagues to do their best work and recognize the important contributions they make in the world — for instance, my colleagues and collaborators in Tanzania who are continuing to challenge powerful groups and ideas in their fight for land and human rights.