Benjamin Glade

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT BENJAMIN GLADE

For as long as I can remember, sports and community have been key interests of mine. Because of this, I eventually landed at Seattle Team Shop, which was an opportunity to combine my retail experience with my passion for Seattle professional sports - Go Hawks! While my time at Seattle Team Shop was invaluable, I knew that I would find more joy in starting a business with my friends. Several of us left to start Gameday Sports Shop, where we felt we could take what we had learned and build upon it. We were fortunate to have incredible timing as the Seahawks went on to win the Super Bowl only three months after we had opened. I enjoyed seeing firsthand the new products coming in, setting up and coordinating our inventory management system, and interacting with customers who shared my passion for Seattle sports. However, after about 3 1/2 years, I felt I was still missing something. I didn’t feel that I was contributing to society how I wanted to, which led to me pivoting and eventually joining the Peace Corps. I specifically applied to the Small Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Development Volunteer position in Namibia, because I felt that my background would enable me to add more value than I could at any other post. I left for Namibia excited, open-minded, and ready to serve however I was needed. During my service, I was partnered with an NGO working in the conservation and tourism industry. I loved being involved at the grassroots level, especially in conservation where I could see the impact of climate change and global warming firsthand. That energy helped propel me into various secondary projects that covered HIV and AIDS, entrepreneurship camps, youth empowerment camps, and small business skills workshops. I knew that after the Peace Corps I wanted to continue working in a similar capacity where I could contribute to various social impact initiatives. I felt that a consulting role, similar to the role I played at the NGO, would enable me to continue that type of work while benefiting multiple organizations. That led me to pursue an MBA at Darden, where I was blessed to find yet another very close-knit community. Post-graduation I was fortunate to land a role as an Associate at Cicero Group where I can continue to pursue my passion for social impact and contribute to something bigger than myself. If my story has resonated with you at all, please feel free to connect!