Benjamin Skinner

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E. Benjamin Skinner (born May 4, 1976) is a writer on modern-day slavery [1] and Founder and President of Transparentem. [2]

Contents

Career

Skinner began his career at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City, where he focused on U.S. foreign policy. [3] [ failed verification ] While at the Council in August 2001, he met veteran diplomat Richard C. Holbrooke. [4] Skinner soon became "one of Holbrooke’s youngest protégés," [5] and his Special Assistant for the next three years. Subsequently, he also worked for journalist David Halberstam [6] and Gen. Stanley McChrystal (U.S. Army, Ret.). [7] In 2003, while on assignment in Sudan for Newsweek International , Skinner met his first survivor of slavery. [8]

As a writer, Skinner has infiltrated trafficking networks and slave quarries, urban child markets and illegal brothels, going undercover when necessary. [9] His work has appeared in Time , Bloomberg Businessweek , Travel + Leisure , the Los Angeles Times , the Miami Herald and Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy, among others. [10] [ failed verification ]

The New York Times and The Boston Globe called Skinner's first book, A Crime So Monstrous, "devastating." [11] The book was awarded the 2009 Dayton Literary Peace Prize for nonfiction, [12] as well as a citation from the Overseas Press Club in its book category for 2008.[ citation needed ] He was also named one of National Geographic 's Adventurers of the Year 2008.[ citation needed ] The book was published in Czech, German, Korean, Italian, and Polish translations. Chapters from the book have been adapted for an Emmy Award-winning episode of ABC's Nightline and for NBC's Law & Order . [13]

Starting in 2009, Skinner was a Senior Fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University, [10] [ failed verification ] where he focused on tracing slavery in corporate supply chains from theaters like the New Zealand fishing industry [14] and Indonesian palm oil plantations [15] to U.S. and Chinese consumer markets. Previously, he was the first fellow for human trafficking at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. [9] In 2011, the World Economic Forum named Skinner one of its Young Global Leaders, [10] [ failed verification ] and he formerly served on the Forum's Global Agenda Council on Illicit Trade. [13] Skinner is a former senior vice president at Tau Investment Management. [2]

Personal

Skinner was raised in Wisconsin and northern Nigeria where his father served as a British colonial administrator. [9] Skinner comes from a long line of abolitionists. His great-great-grandfather, Robert Pratt, served with the 1st Connecticut Artillery at the Siege of Petersburg, which led to Lee's surrender at Appomattox. [12] Skinner received his bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University. [10] [ failed verification ] He currently lives in Manhattan, NY. [16]

Bibliography

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References

  1. ↑ "Mariane Pearl: 'I was not born the day Daniel died' - INSP News Service". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2013-08-07.
  2. 1 2 "Transparentem Bringing Transparency to Human and Environmental Abuse".
  3. ↑ "E. Benjamin Skinner | HuffPost". HuffPost .
  4. ↑ The Unquiet American: Richard Holbrooke in the World (Essay by Skinner, Editors Derek Chollet and Samantha Power)(PublicAffairs, 2011) ISBN   1610390784
  5. ↑ Mead, Walter Russell (2012-02-14). "The Unquiet American: Richard Holbrooke in the World". Foreign Affairs (March/April 2012).
  6. ↑ Halberstam, David The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War (Hyperion, 2008) ISBN   0786888628
  7. ↑ McChrystal, Stanley My Share of the Task: A Memoir (Portfolio, 2013) ISBN   1591844754
  8. ↑ "Adventure". Archived from the original on December 10, 2008.
  9. 1 2 3 "Carr Center: Program on Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery". Archived from the original on June 11, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "The Forum of Young Global Leaders".
  11. ↑ Meier, Mary H. (19 February 2009). "Shining a light on today's slaves". Boston.com.
  12. 1 2 "Dayton Literary Peace Prize - Benjamin Skinner, 2009 Nonfiction Winner".
  13. 1 2 "E. Benjamin Skinner | Staff | About the Institute | Schuster Institute | Brandeis University".
  14. ↑ "The Fishing Industry's Cruelest Catch". Bloomberg.com. 24 February 2012. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Indonesia's Palm Oil Industry Rife with Human-Rights Abuses". Bloomberg.com. 20 July 2013. Archived from the original on July 21, 2013.
  16. ↑ "E. Benjamin Skinner".
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