Ben Whelan

Ben is the Global Risk and Operations Manager on the SecOps team and is responsible for identifying, understanding, and mitigating threats faced by Access Now. He leads a range of safety, security, and risk projects, policies, and programs designed to support the organization and its operations. He works across the team on areas such as travel, country office security operations, documentation, training, individual staff safety, and security management for RightsCon, our annual conference.

Having been with Access Now for many years Ben has held multiple roles across the Security & Operations teams and has previously supported operational growth and expansion. Before Access Now, he worked for the UK’s Ministry of Justice, London Probation’s Prolific Offender Unit, the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI), New York University, WITNESS, and at the British Embassy in Costa Rica. He attended the University of Manchester and has a Master’s in International Relations from the University of Leiden.

When not at work he spends most of his time chasing his children around.