Photojournalist
Ben has worked as a photojournalist and photo editor for daily newspapers in Indiana, Kansas, Maryland (Washington, D.C. area), Missouri and North Dakota.
Graphic journalist & designer
Ben has more than 10 years experience as a news page designer and graphic artist. He was on the Ball State Daily News team that took honors for the Society for News Design World’s Best Designed Newspaper (1997). After completing a design internship at the Detroit Free Press, he moved to Alaska and joined the staff of the Anchorage Daily News. At the Daily News he created magazine, features and news pages and informational graphics.
Web content & design specialist
Ben worked on a redesign of the website for the Anchorage School District. He collaborated with staff to develop and present Web and digital content for a community of 300,000 with 50,000 students and 6,000 employees. Ben moved on to digital marketing and communications work for financial institutions in Anchorage. Today, Ben splits his time between working in Alaska’s travel and tourism industry and traveling abroad.
9 + 1
Number of states & foreign countries resided in
50
U.S. states explored by car
337329
Miles traveled since 2013 to 14 countries & 4 continents
I wrote a newspaper story about the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and got to take an hour-long media flight. We pushed .9 mach and did 9 Gs. I actually got to take the stick for several maneuvers.
I enjoy swimming, and have been active in the Swimming with Alaska Masters workout group since 2010. Here’s a profile of me in the Anchorage Daily News that explains how and why I got involved in Masters Swimming.
I learned to ice skate as an adult and played adult league hockey for a few years. I have been a USA Hockey certified referee for more than 20 years and work all levels of youth and adult hockey games.