Ben Gies
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Benjamin Gies spent the last decade engaged in education advocacy and policy at the local, state, and federal levels. Ben’s focus is centered on access to quality early childhood education, early literacy, K-12 education governance, post-secondary readiness, community engagement, and civic education. He has collaborated with non-profit organizations, grassroots advocates, school district leaders, the business community, and elected leaders to grow education outcomes. Ben’s skills include advocacy and coalition building, strategic thinking, systems development, and policy reform.
Prior to joining Foresight, Ben served as policy director and director of government affairs for education and child welfare non-profits in his home state of Kentucky. Ben worked with leaders in rural and urban communities to increase access to high quality early education. His work focused on creating non-governmental and municipal-based approaches to increased investment and community partnerships in the early education sector.
Additionally, Ben has robust experience in state-level advocacy -- with success winning in significant public investments in early education, K-12 education, and post-secondary education. At the federal level, he worked alongside US Senate leadership to assist the child care sector during the pandemic and in its aftermath. Ben also enjoys his work with local school districts. He recently assisted Mountain View Whisman School District in Mountain View, California with the district’s transition to a science of reading-based approach to early literacy.
Ben is proud to be a first-generation college graduate. He holds his Doctorate in Education Policy from Vanderbilt University, his Master’s in American History from the University of Louisville, and his Bachelor’s in History and Secondary Education from Bellarmine University. Ben is an awardee of the James Madison Memorial Fellowship, the Virginia Madden Leadership Award, the Ella Norton Walsh Award in History, and the Civic Educator of the Year (2019) Award from the Kentucky Secretary of State. He is also a recipient of the George Merrifield Legacy Award for Advocacy, the La Verne Noyes Memorial Scholarship at Vanderbilt University, and the Theodore Buerck Leadership Award from the Rotary Club of Louisville. He previously served as the Director for Civic Education at the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville and served as an elected member on the Jefferson County (KY) Board of Education.
Prior to joining Foresight, Ben served as policy director and director of government affairs for education and child welfare non-profits in his home state of Kentucky. Ben worked with leaders in rural and urban communities to increase access to high quality early education. His work focused on creating non-governmental and municipal-based approaches to increased investment and community partnerships in the early education sector.
Additionally, Ben has robust experience in state-level advocacy -- with success winning in significant public investments in early education, K-12 education, and post-secondary education. At the federal level, he worked alongside US Senate leadership to assist the child care sector during the pandemic and in its aftermath. Ben also enjoys his work with local school districts. He recently assisted Mountain View Whisman School District in Mountain View, California with the district’s transition to a science of reading-based approach to early literacy.
Ben is proud to be a first-generation college graduate. He holds his Doctorate in Education Policy from Vanderbilt University, his Master’s in American History from the University of Louisville, and his Bachelor’s in History and Secondary Education from Bellarmine University. Ben is an awardee of the James Madison Memorial Fellowship, the Virginia Madden Leadership Award, the Ella Norton Walsh Award in History, and the Civic Educator of the Year (2019) Award from the Kentucky Secretary of State. He is also a recipient of the George Merrifield Legacy Award for Advocacy, the La Verne Noyes Memorial Scholarship at Vanderbilt University, and the Theodore Buerck Leadership Award from the Rotary Club of Louisville. He previously served as the Director for Civic Education at the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville and served as an elected member on the Jefferson County (KY) Board of Education.