Ben Paren

Director of Wellness

School of Engineering and Applied Science

Ben Paren is a 5th year PhD candidate in Materials Science and Engineering. As the first Director of Wellness for GAPSA, he is eager to work within the Penn community to advocate for the well-being of all graduate and professional students. In this role, he hopes to help shape policies at a University-wide scale that address the various wellness needs of the student body. For the past three years, Ben served as a Wellness Deputy, assisting the GAPSA Student Life Chair with wellness-related programming throughout campus. Now in this new policy-focused position, he is looking forward to hearing from students from all of the schools to better understand what changes the University and campus organizations can make to improve their lives on a mental, emotional, and physical level.

Outside of GAPSA, Ben is a board member of Advancing Women in Engineering (AWE), where he focuses on programs to improve allyship within the STEM community. He is passionate about improving global energy sustainability and equity, and his PhD research involves polymers for energy storage applications, such as batteries. Ben also contributes to reports by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, regarding energy efficient policies and technologies. In his free time, Ben enjoys going on walks, watching Netflix, and exploring Philadelphia.

If you have ideas or suggestions you would like to share about GAPSA, please do not hesitate to contact Ben at gapsa.wellness@gapsa.upenn.edu.