Giving Children The Support They Deserve
Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Ben grew up in a family of six, including two siblings who were adopted from Haiti. His passion for service work stems from his childhood and a long history of volunteering with organizations, like the First Place School, which provides needed support for safe, secure housing and education for families with children experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
In 2017, Ben moved to the Bay Area to continue his career in financial planning and investment. Today, he works with executives and families to align their personal finances and investments with priorities around cash flow, wealth transfer, philanthropy, as well as income tax and estate tax considerations as the Executives Practice Leader at Threadline Wealth.
Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Ben grew up in a family of six, including two siblings who were adopted from Haiti. His passion for service work stems from his childhood and a long history of volunteering with organizations, like the First Place School, which provides needed support for safe, secure housing and education for families with children experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
In 2017, Ben moved to the Bay Area to continue his career in financial planning and investment. Today, he works with executives and families to align their personal finances and investments with priorities around cash flow, wealth transfer, philanthropy, as well as income tax and estate tax considerations as the Executives Practice Leader at Threadline Wealth.
He was first introduced to Child Advocates of Silicon Valley through a client of his, who was a board member at the time. Interested in continuing his volunteer journey, he began the process of becoming a Court Appointed Child Advocate in 2018 and was matched with a 13-year-old boy who enjoyed being active and playing sports. Through their time together, Ben experienced the ins and outs of the foster care system and what it means to SHOW UP for foster youth in his community.
“I think especially in Silicon Valley, it’s such a resource-rich area in so many ways, but the communities operate better when we support each other. It’s easy to go about your day and be unaware of how many kids have experienced abuse or neglect in the area, but those trends have not slowed down, unfortunately, even in Santa Clara County,” says Ben. “I think of anyone that deserves support, children that have experienced abuse or neglect are the highest on my personal list and should be on the highest for the community. Even in a resource-rich community, it’s important to SHOW UP for those kids.”
Connecting With The Board
In 2023, Ben shifted his participation with Child Advocates, bringing firsthand CASA experience to the board of directors.
Since joining, Ben has helped Child Advocates move their office to a bigger building, allowing them to host more events and create a welcoming space for foster youth, CASAs and the Child Advocates team. He has also served as Chair for the O’Leary Planning Committee, Vice Chair of the board of directors, and recently became Board Chair in July of 2026. In this new role, he hopes to use his financial planning background to continue the important work that the organization drives and stay true to its mission of being there for every foster child in Silicon Valley who has experienced abuse, neglect and/or abandonment.
“Our mission and strategic plan has been the same since the day I started on the board,” he shares. “What we’re trying to accomplish hasn’t changed. But I think in those roles, there’s a different level of stewardship that you feel, the kind of responsibility to leave the board—how it functions, and then the organization as a whole—in a in a better spot than when you found it for the next person who steps in as chair or into any of the leadership positions. That passion and determination elevates as you have more and more responsibilities or focus on the organization’s mission.”
It’s Time to SHOW UP!
Every day, Child Advocates of Silicon Valley works to support foster youth in Silicon Valley. As a community member, we each have the power to STAND UP and SHOW UP to make this work possible, to make a difference.
“The thing that excites me the most is getting to work with so many people that give their time, talent and treasure to something that they believe in. Whether it’s other board members, the staff, or CASAs, everything that you touch in the organization is filled with people that are passionate about supporting kids in the community, and I think that’s what fires me up. I’m excited to be around so many of those people.”
Become a vital part of the Child Advocates team and help support foster youth in Silicon Valley today! Learn more, sign up for a CASA Volunteer info session, or donate at childadvocatessv.org