Benjamin Chang is the vice president for communications and spokesperson for

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. He previously worked in communications at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, in public relations at Burson Cohn & Wolfe, and as vice president and events editor for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

''. Previously, he served as Associate Administrator for Communications and Public Liaison at the

Small Business Administration The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and stren ...

. From 2012 to 2015, he was the Senior Vice President for Communications at the

Albright Stonebridge Group Dentons Global Advisors ASG, formerly Albright Stonebridge Group, is a global business strategy firm based in Washington, D.C., United States. It was created in 2009 through the merger of international consulting firms The Albright Group, founde ...

. Chang served as a career Foreign Service Officer at the Department of State for almost 18 years. He worked in the

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

Bureau of Public Affairs The Bureau of Public Affairs (PA) was the part of the United States Department of State that carries out the Secretary of State's mandate to help Americans understand the importance of foreign policy. The Bureau was led by the Assistant Secreta ...

as Senior Advisor for Strategic Planning and Crisis Communications, and as the Director for Press and Communications at the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

during both the Bush and Obama Administrations.

Background and education

In high school, Chang visited both Central America and the former Soviet Union, where he developed an interest in international relations.The Washington Diplomat
He attended

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, where he graduated from the School of Foreign Service.

Foreign Service Officer career

Chang has served as a

Foreign Service Officer A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U ...

in the State Department, with postings in

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

at the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...

, in New York at the United Nations, and in Washington, D.C., working at for Secretaries Albright and Powell. From 2004 to 2008, he was Deputy Spokesman on

Richard Grenell Richard Allen Grenell (born September 18, 1966) is an American political operative, diplomat, TV personality, and public relations consultant who served as Acting Director of National Intelligence in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet in 2020. ...

's staff at the United States Mission to the United Nations. In 2012, Chang served as principal of the

Podesta Group The Podesta Group was a lobbying and public affairs firm based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1988 by brothers John and Tony Podesta and has previously been known as Podesta Associates, podesta.com and PodestaMattoon. John Podesta left ...

, a lobbying and public affairs firm.

Personal life

Chang is a photographer and DJ. As a photographer, Chang specializes in documentary-style backstage photography in both the fashion and music worlds. Chang was named one of

PAPER Magazine ''Paper'' (also known as ''Paper Mag'') is a New York City-based independent magazine focusing on fashion, popular culture, nightlife, music, art, and film. Initially produced monthly, the magazine eventually became a quarterly publication, and a ...

's 64 Most Beautiful People of 2008 and one of

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

's "50 to Watch" in 2013. He spoke about letting his personal passions impact his "day job" in his closing remarks at TEDxAix in 2014.

References

External links

Washington Diplomat Article

On the Inside Bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Ben Living people Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni United States Department of State officials American diplomats Year of birth missing (living people)