Ben leads our New Social Contract initiative, helping develop strategy and capacity behind co-governance efforts that give people who are directly impacted by public policy and privatized governance—especially poor and working-class folks and communities of color—genuine, equitable power in policy making, policy implementation and oversight of government and private powers. Before joining Partners for Dignity & Rights, Ben planned a conference on grassroots community organizing, conducted worker-led labor research, supported community development organizations, and ran an international volunteer program, a fellowship program for young people of color and a day camp. He has worked with the Urban Justice Center, Center for Urban Pedagogy, Hester Street Collaborative, Food Chain Workers Alliance, Restaurant Opportunities Center-United, DataCenter, Interpretive Media Laboratory, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Yayasan Dian Desa (an Indonesian appropriate technology organization), and an Ecuadorian shelter for street children. Ben has published work in The Forge, In These Times, Jacobin, the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, the Law & Political Economy Project Blog, Next City, Nonprofit Quarterly, and The Progressive, and holds a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning from UCLA and a B.A. in Urban Studies from Stanford University.

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