As Vice President of the Memphis Medical District Collaborative, he deployed a $1M revolving loan fund and partnered on a $30M debt fund, catalyzing over $500 million in district development. As a founding team member of Small Change, he helped build the tools to democratize real estate investment at the neighborhood level. He later directed civic brand and economic development strategies for municipalities at a5 Branding & Digital.

His writing on architecture and urbanism has appeared in ARCHITECT, Belt, CityLab, and Metropolis. A Next City Vanguard and Good Work Institute Fellow, he is currently President of the Progress & Poverty Institute and a board director of Community LIFT and Equiticity.

Ben holds a bachelor's degree from Roosevelt University and a Master's degree in Communication from the University of Illinois-Chicago.