Thailand Institute of Justice Bangkok, THAILAND
Ben Chin, now 25 years old, has been in recovery from addiction since age 19. He is currently a senior at Rutgers University majoring in Public Health and Linguistics, and plans to pursue a law degree with his sights set on influencing public health policy both in the United States and abroad. At Rutgers, Ben has been a resident and active member of the Rutgers Recovery House as well as a leader of the Rutgers Mountainview Project, an organization supporting ex-offenders as they make the transition from incarceration to higher education. In addition, Ben has participated in a number of leadership development activities on campus, including the Rising Leaders Institute, the Leadership Quest Summer Program, and the Cap and Skull Senior Honors Society.
Beyond Rutgers, Ben is a founding member of the non-profit organization Young People in Recovery (YPR), a grassroots organization that mobilizes young people to advocate for improved recovery support services. Ben has also completed an internship at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an agency within the US Department of Health and Human Services, where he worked in the Office of Planning, Policy, and Innovation.
In January 2013, Ben and a colleague from YPR established PTR Associates, a consulting firm dedicated to creating recovery-oriented solutions in order to address disparities in the delivery of prevention, treatment, and recovery services. In its first year, PTR Associates has worked with both the federal government and multiple state governments as well as such nationally recognized organizations as Hazelden, the Treatment Research Institute, and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.
This past spring Ben was selected as the New Jersey recipient of the 2013 Harry S. Truman Scholarship. Ben wishes to thank his family as well as his mentors and friends at Rutgers for supporting him throughout his journey.
The 2014-2015 Luce Scholar placement for Ben Chin is at the Thailand Institute of Justice (TIJ) in Bangkok. Established by the Royal Thai Government in 2011 and affiliated with the Ministry of Justice, the Thailand Institute of Justice aims to promote excellence in research and capacity building in crime and justice. Building on Thailand’s engagement in the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and the UN Crime Congresses, TIJ serves as a bridge that transports global ideas to local practice, including in enhancing domestic justice reform and the rule-based community within the ASEAN region. TIJ also gears its work towards important crosscutting issues on the UN agenda such as the rule of law, development, human rights, peace and security. Through knowledge management and outreach, TIJ aspires to be not only an agent of change in the Thai “community of justice”, but also a partner of the United Nations Programme Network Institutes (PNI) in Southeast Asia.