Ben began his career as an attorney with the Popham, Haik law firm specializing in regulatory affairs. He spent over a decade in the venture capital field as General Partner of the Gideon Hixon Fund which invested in early stage software, information services, and medical technology companies in Minnesota and the Silicon Valley. Ben spent several years managing statewide political campaigns. In 2005 Ben was nominated by President George W. Bush as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway where he served until mid-2009.  Since then he has dedicated himself to developing several non-profits with a strong focus on education reform. In 2013 Ben earned a Master in Public Policy Management with a focus on education policy from Georgetown University. He has worked with Leadership for Equity in Education, EMPOWER, Comeback MN, school board races, and many other education projects.  Ben serves on the board of the Minneapolis Foundation, is the Vice Chair of the Harvest Network of Schools, and serves as Board Chair of MinnCAN, the state’s largest education reform advocacy organization.