Ben Spangenberg began as a Fellow in our National Leadership Program shortly after I started working at RespectAbility. By 2017, he was managing the National Leadership Program. Ben truly gave his all when working with Fellows. He knew personally how it felt to be discriminated against in the workplace due to a disability, and he not only fought hard to help change the landscape for future individuals but also imparted his “Benly wisdom” to more than 200 Fellows who came through the program under his tutelage. He has helped countless people learn how to advocate for themselves – especially in terms of disability accommodations. His legacy will live on in the dozens of Fellows he mentored – reviewing resumes, conducting mock interviews, and connecting them to a vast network within the disability community.
Personally, Ben was there for me when I acquired my own disability in 2018. He helped me navigate new situations, demonstrating the importance of adaptability. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, we would spend hours in each other’s offices, brainstorming new ideas to help to advance the next cohort of Fellows, or even to debrief after a difficult day. Ben was a support system not only to our Fellows but many of our staff as well, making going to work more like an opportunity to engage with some chosen family over just colleagues. One of my favorite memories is early on in our time together, when my daughter was about one year old and would come into the office with me two days a week. She would love to “deliver packages” to colleagues. Ben and his husband Justin would always make sure to have some scrap paper around for my daughter to pick up and bring to others around the office.
Ben put his whole self into his work for such an important reason – to help others find success in their lives. He is going to be very missed – in my family, in our work family, and the greater disability community.
