Ben crosses borders of politics, science, music, and action-research with movements for climate and environmental justice. Whether birding in Central Park or humming to impromptu fiddle concerts in the subway, he grew up seeking to reconcile New York City’s wonderfully messy natures/cultures with its entrenched systemic racial, economic, gender, and environmental injustice. A fourth-generation American descended from Jews fleeing persecution in Eastern Europe, Ben finds musical nourishment for change-making with his great-grandmother’s childhood violin. Inspired by his parents, both therapists, and their dedication to interpersonal liberation, he studied and organized at Swarthmore College on the intersection of environmental justice, climate politics, and biology. Ben pushed for engaged curricula linking anti-oppression, social justice, and sustainability, and helped build alignment on core commitments to intersectional social justice across student environmental groups. Spearheading Swarthmore’s engagement with the UN international climate negotiations, he helped lead the College’s delegation to COP20 in Lima, Peru. Ben earned an M.S. in Nature, Society and Environmental Governance from the University of Oxford. His action-research focuses on building solidarity across US movements for climate and social justice.
Currently, Ben works at the Union of Concerned Scientists with advocates, scientists, and communities fighting the fossil fuel industry’s obstruction of climate action. Ben first joined SustainUS as part of the COP22 delegation to Marrakech, Morocco. As Community Building and Partnerships Coordinator and a COP23 delegate, Ben could not feel more honored to support SustainUS in cultivating solidarity and building power with movements for justice and sustainability.
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