Experienced business leader and writer, working for the environments and interactions young children need for Cognitive, Social and Emotional Growth.

A University of Chicago MBA, Ben was a consumer products Brand Manager at a Fortune 500 company before becoming a TV writer and then a technology executive. He started a family of successful plant/gardening/internet companies in downtown Los Angeles in 1997 that were sold in 2010, when his professional focus turned to Early Childhood Education.

Ben was trained in RIE by Elizabeth Memel, and worked as a temporary elementary school teacher in the Santa Monica Schools (smmusd). He does early childhood and is as Director of Early Engagement, a california nonprofit focused on parent education.

Statement of Values:

I started taking RIE classes in 2005, and it changed my life. Affordable Available Quality Childcare is a human right – and a great investment. The value of quality Early Education and how it pays off for communities is well understood. The first three years of life are extraordinary opportunities, both as individual parents, and as communities. There are smart, simple ways to support children’s natural development so they have mental wellness tools. These approaches are not always intuitive, but they are simple, based on values, and they work. There is no better investment than quality early education, and nothing else I want to do with the rest of my life.

Ben Swett