U.S. Department of Commerce Designee
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Development and Chief Operating Officer
U.S. Economic Development Administration
Washington, District of Columbia
Ben is serving as a Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Commerce supporting implementation of Commerce’s infrastructure and other large scale programs. In this capacity, he is coordinating cross department efforts to ensure successful implementation of these high priority initiatives and serving as the Department’s liaison to the White House Infrastructure Implementation Taskforce.
From June of 2019 through the start of current detail assignment in Ben served as the Census bureau’s chief financial officer. While at Census, Ben has oversaw efforts to secure and execute FY 2020 appropriations, provide acquisition support to the 2020 Decennial census, and improve the positions of the bureau in the annual financial statement audit. He implemented process changes and financial changes to ensure alignment of the operations of the Office of the Chief Financial Officer with program operations and the use of financial data to support enterprise business decisions.
Prior to joining the Census Bureau, Ben served as chief of the Commerce Branch at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB). At OMB, he worked with the Department of Commerce, Small Business Administration, Federal Communications Commission, and other related agencies to develop and execute the President’s budget. In this capacity, he worked closely with White House policy councils, congressional stakeholders, and leadership at the Department of Commerce to develop and implement policy recommendations through the enactment of legislation, promulgating regulations, or taking administrative actions. In addition, his office at OMB was responsible for carrying out OMB’s statutory responsibilities for spectrum management and advising the director on policy matters related to spectrum and telecommunications.
In his previous role at OMB, Ben served as an advisor to three different OMB directors. His responsibilities included covering macro fiscal issues; working with the House Budget Committee covering science, space, and energy policy; and serving as a budget analyst responsible for national security and criminal justice issues. Ben received a bachelor of arts in public administration from the University of Tennessee and a master’s in public policy from George Washington University.