Directory Profile

Ben is an agricultural policy expert with a wide range of experience. Most recently, he worked as the Senior Policy Director for Agriculture at the Environmental Defense Fund in Austin, Texas. Before joining EDF, Ben served as Director of Agriculture at the Montana Department of Agriculture. Prior to that appointment, he held leadership positions at USDA, serving as Deputy Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs and Chief of Staff for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services. Ben also served as Senior Counsel the Senate Agriculture Committee, working for U.S. Senator Max Baucus. He began his career in Washington D.C. as a Farm Policy Specialist at Farm Service Agency, a position he took after completing his LL.M. degree.

Ben grew up on his family's farm in Texas. He earned his B.A. degree in English and German from Austin College, spending a year at the University of Vienna and later serving as an English Language Teaching Assistant for the Austrian-American Fulbright Commission. He received his JD degree from Washington University in St. Louis and his LL.M. in Agricultural and Food Law from the University of Arkansas School of Law.