Benjamin Cokelet
Adjunct Lecturer of Public Administration


Benjamin E. Cokelet teaches Introduction to Community Organizing as a member of the adjunct faculty. In 2008 Ben founded PODER (Project on Organizing, Development, Education, and Research) to improve corporate transparency and accountability in Latin America and to strengthen civil society stakeholders. PODER leverages business intelligence, transparency technology, and grassroots organizing to build a citizen-led corporate accountability movement. In 2009 PODER won NYU Stern School of Business’s prestigious Social Venture Competition. In 2010 Ben was awarded Echoing Green and Ashoka fellowships.

Prior to founding PODER Ben worked for 12 years as a community and union organizer and human rights advocate in both the United States and Mexico. Ben holds a Bachelors degree in Political Science and African and African-American Studies from Washington University in St. Louis and is completing his Masters degree in International Business and Politics at NYU. At NYU, Ben was a Catherine B. Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship. Ben and his family reside in Mexico City.











Areas of Expertise

  • Education
  • International Development
  • Politics
  • Public & Nonprofit Orgs.
  • Race, Class, & Diversity
  • Social Entrepreneurship