A few words about me.

What drives me: making the world a bit more just—and helping people and organizations amplify the impact of a meaningful mission along the way.

I do this by helping great organizations clarify their goals, and leverage their strongest assets to accelerate purpose-driven work. Whether in nonprofit program development, grant making, public policy, or cross-organizational iniatives, I use my background in strategy, partnerships, data-driven analysis, and digital innovation, to build strong teams and develop program management processes that can transform lean resources into outsized results.

“Benjamin is a true professional and was wonderful to work with during his tenure at JSTOR.”

— Laura Brown, Managing Director, JSTOR

Working for the public good is at the heart of every role I hold and every project I lead. By developing creative programs and partnerships designed to sharpen, accelerate, and amplify the impact of organizations, I've had the chance to help increase civil liberties, freedom of expression, equitable access to education, and international cooperation, among other areas of public benefit.

How did I get here?

Thanks to years-long studies in literature and history, obviously! Chaffing aside, rigorous research in the humanities is part of a broad historical, cultural, and analytical foundation. Boosted by some vital training in economics and business analytics—as well as years of experience working hand-in-hand with seasoned leaders across sectors—the resulting strategic toolkit allows me to develop framweorks that invariably yield actionable insights, and achieve meaningful impact.

Be it in helping shape strategy and program development at nonprofits like JSTOR / ITHAKA (a consultancy and leading scholarly database with 6 million monthly users), devising on-the-ground organizing strategies for the Obama Campaign, spearheading novel solutions to overcoming historic development challenges at the American Red Cross, or managing the competing priorities of policymaking at the Department of State, targeted analysis combined with an eye for the broad view have been critical to surpassing stakeholders' expectations.

"We need more diplomats with Benjamin's impressive combination of analytical talent and common sense... He is the real deal."

— Christopher Palmer, Senior Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State

The complexity of these roles has often required using digital tools to advantage. To that end, my work for companies such as Adobe and Microsoft on the early development of core products has given me an eye for where and how technology can be effectively deployed in both managing and maximizing project outcomes.

What I did before finding my way to strategy and analysis.

Smart use of technology should go hand in hand with continual input from organizational experts and leaders. This principle has been a key pillar of my recent work, and it was also central to my early career roles, including as a Faculty Fellow at Columbia University. There, I concurrently served as New Media Teaching Fellow, and was elected as a University Senator. I have held other teaching posts at Princeton University and the École Normale Supérieure in France.

"I cannot overstate Benjamin’s pedagogical skills and the high quality of his teaching. Benjamin is conscientious, competent and generous with his time."

— Véronique Rancurel, Director, Interdisciplinary Studies, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon

Throughout these and earlier roles, I learned first hand the importance of active listening in virtually all professional contexts, and the beauty of civic partcipation in a functioning democracy. This may partly explain why the public service aspect of mission-driven work has been a constant in my wide-ranging professional life. It is also rooted in a longstanding commitment to mentorship, the development of others, and improving outcomes (civil, economic, educational, health-related, ...) for all. Along with a love of learning, these are some of the traits that fuel my work, and motivate the exacting care with which I embrace each new professional challenge.

"During the years we worked together, Benjamin displayed intelligence, creativeness, professionalism, and unbound curiosity."

— Pierre Force, Professor & Dean of Humanities (fmr), Columbia University

For more about my work history and education, see the portfolio.