Ben Schrader, born and raised in Western Colorado, served in the US Army as a 19D Cavalry Scout from 2001-2005. He was stationed in Germany with 1st ID and deployed to Kosovo (‘02-‘03) and to Iraq (‘04-‘05). Ben then went to Colorado State University and double majored in Political Science and Sociology, as well as earned an MA in Ethnic Studies. At CSU he was a part of ASCSU, SLiCE, and PLP (President’s Leadership Program). He was also heavily involved in the CSU/Fort Collins community. Ben then went on to earn a PhD in Political Science from the University of Hawaii. Ben’s work examined veteran activism, and his book Fight to Live, Live to Fight: Veteran Activism after War focuses on veterans who are now social justice activists.
Ben returned to CSU to teach in the Ethnic Studies department and Political Science department from 2014-2017. Ben then went to Central European University to complete a postdoc, then to teach at Bard College for the Globalization and International Affairs program. He then conducted a research project for the University of Dayton examining veterans returning to Vietnam to do service projects.
Personally, Ben loves hiking, camping, fly fishing, watching sports, cooking, reading, gardening, concerts, Colorado professional sports (especially the Avs and Broncos), and community engagement. He also loves to travel as he’s been to 40+ countries and 49 states!