Benjamin joined The Skatepark Project in October 2020. In this role, he provides strategic vision and leadership while overseeing all operations for the organization, including: grantmaking, advocacy, education programs, communications, and fundraising.

A social impact executive with more than 20 years of experience, he has worked with community-based, national and international health, human rights, youth development and arts organizations. Benjamin served most recently as Vice President of CORE, Sean Penn's disaster relief and recovery organization, and he has worked closely with talent and influencers in the entertainment, fashion, art and sports communities in New York, Los Angeles, and across the country. Benjamin holds a BA in Communications from Emerson College.

SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE CEO & BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Colin Cook has been in love with skateboarding since he was 12 years old. Turning his passion into a career, Colin shared his talents in the skate industry for over a decade and contributed to multiple skatepark advocacy efforts in Southern California. Joining the foundation in 2016, Colin assists the rest of The Skatepark Project team on various projects and by working with key donors, supporters, and event-based fundraising.

In June 2021, Rachel joined The Skatepark Project providing strategic oversight and execution of press relations, social media, and marketing to showcase the impact of the organization’s programmatic breadth of work. Additionally, she oversees the Ambassador Program from cultivation through activation.

Specializing in strategic communications, she is focused on the intersection of narrative-driven storytelling, marketing, events and partnerships, and how these elements drive development within the nonprofit sector. She has experience working across impact spaces such as disaster response, humanitarian aid, reproductive health, equity and access, and human rights. Rachel provides organizations and brands with media strategy, branding, talent and influencer engagement, event production and major donor cultivation. Most recently, Rachel led national and regional communications for a high-profile global crisis response organization focused on COVID-19 relief, natural disaster recovery, and crisis mitigation.

As the Chief Financial Officer, Alex is responsible for the financial management and oversight of the daily operations of The Skatepark Project. She has spent the last two decades working with, and supporting, non-profit organizations in achieving their missions and sharing their financial stories.

Alex received her BA in Economics from the State University of New York at Albany and an MS in Accounting from the College of Saint Rose.

Hailing from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Trevor Staples grew up skateboarding throughout the Midwest. With a lack of safe public skateboarding options in the area, he founded Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark in 2007 and recruited his friends and neighbors to advocate for a public skatepark. In 2014, the 30,000 square-foot Ann Arbor Skatepark opened at Veterans Memorial Park. Trevor’s work has offered him many opportunities to bring state, county, and local entities together to support public skateparks.

At TSP, Trevor is responsible for overseeing programs and grantmaking, including the Built To Play program in Michigan and New York in conjunction with the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. His work includes assisting in the development of additional regional grant programs, and management of TSP’s grantmaking process. Before joining TSP in 2018, Trevor taught fourth grade for twenty years.

Alec came to The Skatepark Project with a lifetime of competitive skateboarding under his belt, and a decade of advocacy work, during which he led efforts to create the Stoner Skate Plaza in Los Angeles and to legalize skateboarding at the infamous LA City Courthouse ledges. Alec ​​is often the public’s first point of contact with our organization, and is responsible for designing and implementing the provision of technical assistance, the promotion of social marketing materials, and the coordination of skatepark advocacy projects nationally, and acts as an ambassador and external relations expert on behalf of TSP. Alec is also involved in strategic park development and education materials.

As Associate Director of Marketing, Angela is responsible for managing the organization’s digital marketing and social media strategies, overseeing creative content, and developing campaigns and initiatives to raise awareness and critical funds for The Skatepark Project.

Before joining TSP, Angela worked as a Producer for 900 Films and YouTube’s RIDE Channel for over a decade, where she helped to create some of TSP’s most compelling PSAs and success stories. She brings her action sports production background and her passion for skateboarding and story-telling to the organization. Angela graduated from the University Of California San Diego with a B.A. in Communications and in her free time, she enjoys hiking, yoga, live music, and world travel.

As Associate Director of Development, Gwen ensures donors feel informed and excited about all things TSP, overseeing donor communication, platform management, acknowledgment, and research.

As a fundraising professional with eight years of experience, Gwen has worked with mission-driven art, community-based, and political organizations. With a focus on financial projections and streamlined processes, Gwen has helped organizations meet their ambitious fundraising goals and strengthen philanthropic partnerships. Most recently as the Development Operations Manager at RepresentUs, a voting rights and anti-corruption nonprofit, she gained satisfaction from building operational infrastructure to support her team’s daily fundraising activities.

As Strategic Partnerships Manager, Mandy assists in developing fundraising plans, cultivating current donors, and identifying new prospects. She comes to The Skatepark Project with over nine years of development experience from The University of Texas at Austin, where she developed a strong background in donor and corporate relations, annual giving, event management, communications, and stewardship.

Mandy is a proud native of Texas’s Rio Grande Valley and holds a Bachelor of Journalism from The University of Texas at Austin. Outside of work, she is an avid rock climber and a dedicated volunteer with local climbing nonprofits.

April comes to TSP with 15 years experience working with non-profit organizations. In her current role she partners closely with TSP's CFO to support the organization's programs and missions. Although April is not a skateboarder herself, her son is and she loves being able to support an organization that makes such a positive impact and representation of skate culture.

Andre has been skateboarding since 2003 and has worked with several skatepark projects and non-profit organizations. Andre began working with The Skatepark Project as a volunteer hoping to give back to a culture that he loves. He now serves as the Programs Coordinator, supporting the TSP Grantmaking and Technical Assistance Programs.