Ben’s passion for recovery, prevention and harm reduction comes from his own struggle with substance abuse. Sober since 6/15/96, Ben has been a part of the recovery movement in almost every way imaginable; from a recipient to a provider to a spokesperson. In 2007 Ben left his position as a HR director inside of a Denver based S&P 500 firm to help start the Colorado based nonprofit, Phoenix Multisport, now “The Phoenix”. As an original board member and then their first full time employee, Ben was instrumental in building this organization that has received frequent national recognition for their innovative approach to building sober communities around sport and healthy activities. In 2012 Cort joined the University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) where he ran the marketing, business development and admissions departments for their substance abuse treatment services known as CeDAR. He left that role in 2017 to consult inside of the treatment community, athletics and organized labor. Throughout this time Ben has remained active in the discussion around marijuana, assisting several states efforts to hold back Big Marijuana and always advocating for recovery. These efforts keep him close to the national discussion and make him a frequent guest in the media. Ben has earned a reputation as being pro-logic and recovery oriented rather than anti anything. Cort is considered a subject matter expert on ethical treatment practices, having written widely adopted curriculum on the subject and frequently discusses the topic on national platforms and media. He is also utilized by professional sports leagues, clubs and collegiate athletic programs to determine appropriate treatment for their athletes, coaches and their families as well as develop recovery-oriented policies. Ben is a Jr Fellow at the University of Florida inside of their drug policy institute, a board member for NALGAP (National Association of Lesbian, Gay Bisexual, Transgender treatment providers and their allies), a Board member at SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) and faculty at numerous institutes. He is a published author (Weed Inc, HCI/Simon and Schuster 2017). His TED talk “Surprising Truths about Legalizing Cannabis” has been viewed over 2 million times. In November of 2019 Ben moved from a consulting role with the Foundry Steamboat Springs to CEO. When not working or hanging out with his wife and three kids Ben can be found chasing trout with his flyrod or buried deep in a book.