BIO
Ben McBride is a visionary leader of radical belonging. The co-founder of the Empower Initiative, a capacity building firm devoted to empowering organizations and communities, he is a leading expert in fostering belonging and public safety reform. Through his dedicated work as an internationally recognized peacemaker, faith leader, activist, and sought-after speaker, Ben uniquely develops strong leaders and builds dynamic cultures of empathy, allyship, and belonging.
Ben’s decades-long commitment to ending gun violence has included being the founder of the Bring The HEAT campaign, a national initiative to transform policing as well as being the former director of PICO California, the state's largest multiracial, multi-religious social change network.
Ben was listed as one of the 2020 top faith leaders to watch by the Center for American Progress. Whereas in 2016, Vice President Kamala Harris appointed Ben as the Co-Chair of Racial and Identity Profiling Act Board, a statewide initiative which works alongside law enforcement to curb racial profiling.
While the impact of his passionate strides in bridging and belonging were featured in the Sundance award-winning documentary, THE FORCE, Ben has also authored Troubling the Water (Broadleaf Books, Oct 2023) where he lends his own voice to the movement. Ben lives in Oakland with his wife and business partner, Gynelle and their three amazing daughters.