Ben Joosten

Research Collaborator

Ben Joosten has been a contributor to the research process since 2017, through participating in numerous interviews and reviewing draft content for the book manuscript Beloved Economies.

Ben has been an active member of the Wisconsin Rapids Area Maker group since 2013, working with other members to support each other and the community on creative endeavors and passion projects. He works with the local technical college to bring modern manufacturing equipment to rural K-12 students in central Wisconsin. This provides hands-on exposure to equipment students at larger schools may have access to, but students at smaller schools may not otherwise have the chance to experience. Central Wisconsin has many small- and medium-sized manufacturing companies, and this work is in an effort to grow the available skilled workforce for domestic manufacturing. Ben also works for a local small business that specializes in processing superfoods and developing more sustainable plastic composites.