Ben Levenson '13 Managing Director of Justice is Global & Project 55 Fellowship Alum

Ben Levenson '13

Managing Director of Justice is Global & Project 55 Fellowship Alum

Two years after graduating from Princeton and working in the nonprofit sector, Ben Levenson '13 applied for a PP55 Fellowship and was placed at North Lawndale Employment Network (NLEN) in Chicago. The experience confirmed his desire to work towards criminal justice reform. After his Fellowship, he joined an ultimately successful political campaign that exposed him to community organizing and fundraising. The immersion in grassroots movement building at NLEN, coupled with his experience on the political campaign gave Ben what he calls the 'organizing bug' and propelled him into a career as a community organizer. He is now the

Managing Director of Justice Is Global, an organization that seeks to tackle some of the greatest threats of our generation—inequality, farright nationalism, and climate change—by building an international coalition to create a more equitable global society. Justice Is Global started as a local project in Chicago, but in 2019 it expanded nationally by becoming a project of People’s Action Institute, a national network in 26 states with over 1 million members. With fiscal sponsorship and a new national platform, Justice Is Global hopes to expand its current success in Illinois across the country and dramatically increase its reach internationally as well.

Ben has already started leveraging the AlumniCorps network by talking to former PP55 Fellow and current New York Area Committee co-chair Andrew Goldstein '06. While Andrew works as a physician in New York City, he is also a community organizer who spearheaded On Call for Democracy, a grassroots, informal group of progressive health professionals that mobilized voters to vote for pro-health candidates in the 2018 midterm elections. Ben shared, "There is a lot of power in the Princeton community, but it was often alienating because I didn't see many people with the same interest in the public sector. It has been great to connect with AlumniCorps as a way of tapping into the Princeton network for social change." Andrew agreed, "Ben's work is exactly what I want to support and propel forward. I am truly thankful that Kef Kasdin and AlumniCorps connected me with Ben and enabled me to learn about Justice is Global."

Ultimately, Justice is Global is planning to build an international coalition to impact international policy within the next five years. Check out justiceisglobal.org, or reach out to Ben at blevenson@justiceisglobal.org.