Ben Carpenter is the author of the bestseller THE BIGS, which teaches students how to choose, get, and do a great job. The Bigs follows Ben’s progression from a naïve student, to the owner of a wild bar in Manhattan, to the CEO of a major investment firm, to the worried father of a recent college graduate.

The reception to Ben’s book convinced him that he needed to continue helping young people achieve their hopes and dreams, and he founded The Bigs Project—which provides career education programs to middle schools, high schools, colleges and young professionals. This program has been enthusiastically embraced by young people and administrators because it is educational, entertaining, and easy to execute.

Ben is the father of three daughters and resides in Greenwich, CT, with his wife Leigh.

Lynn comes to the Bigs Project with a broad range of experience recruiting, retaining, and supporting talent. She worked for many years on Wall Street and in nonprofits, and witnessed firsthand the varied ways professionals find meaningful work and achieve career fulfillment. A seasoned and accomplished search professional and nonprofit consultant with a stellar track record, she oversees talent acquisition, and outreach initiatives for the Bigs Project.

As a former real estate investor, Eryn knows what it takes to make it in "The Bigs."  She brings the experience of a human resource expert making hundreds of hires. She earned her MBA from Saint Leo University in 2017.

Pam has been involved with The Bigs since its inception: organizing events, PR and marketing, and coordinating the College Book Tour of 2014. She has brought The Bigs to various organizations in the New York metro area.

Dave is founder and CEO of Grab the Torch, a summer institute where students have the opportunity to interact with passionate philanthropic leaders, gain an understanding of their personal values, challenge their leadership skills through outdoor adventure and build lasting friendships. He looks forward to helping bring The Bigs Project to schools and organizations.

Ned is the founder VolunteerSquare.com. Its mission is to encourage young people to look beyond their daily lives and make meaningful connections with their neighbors through volunteering. He has previously held executive positions at Oppenheimer & Co., Deutsche Bank, and Alex. Brown & Sons. Ned is a Bigs Leader concentrating on Connecticut.

Amy previously held the position of Special Assistant for Business Engagement and Career Services at Norwalk Community College and was a Senior Financial Analyst at Morgan Stanley/Van Kampen for 14 years. Amy is a Bigs Leader concentrating on Connecticut.

David has spent the majority of his career teaching, writing curriculum, coaching, and implementing experiential learning programs. He has trained educators and always committed himself to advocating for students and quality education. His work has been published in Education Weekly, US News and World Report, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. He has also been featured on the radio and made various TV appearances. 

As head of Commonfund Institute, John Griswold directed investor education and market research activities for Commonfund, a not-for-profit investment company serving the nonprofit sector. After a successful career in consumer marketing and alternative investments, John joined Commonfund as head of Client Services, Market Research and Publications in 1992. In 1996 he founded the Commonfund Forum, which has become one of the leading educational conferences in the investment business. In 1999 initiated and supervised the Commonfund Benchmarks Studies® of the performance of educational endowments, foundations, operating charities, and healthcare institutions, which survey the investment performance and practices of over 1,400 nonprofit institutions annually. In addition, he supervised and spoke at Commonfund’s annual Endowment Institute, Commonfund Forum, monthly Trustee Roundtables, and at nonprofit and investment industry conferences in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Canada. John retired from Commonfund at the end of 2016 and joined the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges as a Senior Consultant focusing on financial issues facing higher education and board and committee governance. John has authored many articles and book chapters on endowment management, governance, and the management of investment committees. He is a member of several non-profit boards and investment committees, including the board of trustees of BoardSource (former Chair), The Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the Greenwich Roundtable (Chair), and the Regional Plan Association of New York. John is a graduate of Yale University and attended Columbia University Business School.

Deborah’s career in Education spans over 40 years.  After some classroom teaching she moved into the field of counseling, working with students at Medgar Evers College (CUNY) in Brooklyn and Pace University in Pleasantville, NY. She then joined the NYC Dept. of Education, and worked at University Heights High School, then located at Bronx Community College. There, she advanced from Guidance Counselor to Guidance Director, Assistant Principal, and Principal. She retired from the Monroe Academy of Visual Arts and Design in the Bronx.Deborah is thrilled to have joined the BIGS Project, and have the opportunity to once again work with staff, students and parents to help students become the best that they can be, and to achieve their goals. 

Margie was an Executive Vice President and Head of Human Resources at Apache Corporation. In 2015 and 2016, Margie was named one of the 50 Most Powerful and Influential Women in Energy. Margie is a Bigs Leader concentrating on Texas.

Ron is currently a Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley. Previously he held investment banking positions at Thomas Wiesel Partners and Goldman Sachs. Ron is a Bigs Partner concentrating on Ohio, and he introduced The Bigs Project to Ohio State University. OSU is Ron’s alma mater, and now OSU is our partner for The Bigs Research Study.

Timothy A. Judge oversees research on The Bigs Project, gathering data from programs and showcasing their overall effectiveness on students. He is also the Joseph A. Alutto Chair in Leadership Effectiveness, and Executive Director of the Fisher Leadership Initiative, Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University. Judge also is a Fellow of The Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, and Visiting Professor, Division of Psychology & Language Sciences, University College London.Judge is a fellow of the Academy of Management, the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and the International Association of Applied Psychology. His books include Organizational Behavior with Stephen Robbins and Staffing Organizations with H. G. Heneman III and J. D. Kammeyer-Mueller. Judge’s primary research interests are in the areas of personality, leadership, job attitudes, and career and life success.

Dave assists in the research design and implementation initiatives with the Bigs Project.  He is also a research scientist at Pangloss Industries where he works on various applied psychology projects at the Fisher College of Business, the Ohio State University. Glerum served as a Consortium Research Fellow with the Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI) and as an employee of the Teacher Education Institute (TEI) conducting training research. Glerum has been recognized with the James C. Johnson Award by the International Personnel Assessment Council (IPAC) for his research, and by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) and the Academy of Management (AOM) for his conference presentations and reviewing contributions. Glerum’s research interests include job attitudes and emotions in organizations, organizational justice and behavioral ethics, training and education, and multilevel research.