Hi, I’m Ben!

I'm a longtime educator, an experienced public servant, and a dad.

I grew up in Cambridge and attended Cambridge Public Schools (don't ask me who I root for when the Highlanders play the Falcons!). After that, I lived in New York City and spent time overseas in the Republic of Georgia before returning to Somerville in 2018 to be near family.

As an educator specializing in creative technology, I designed one of New York City’s first citywide computer science curricula, and now run a small business training teachers to use technology creatively in the classroom. I worked as an engineer and creative learning specialist at Scratch, a Boston nonprofit that provides free coding education to millions of children in more than 60 languages. Wanting to deepen my impact, I earned a master’s degree from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, and I bring this to my volunteer coaching for the All City Middle School Robotics Club.

In politics and public service, I helped secure statewide ballot access for the Working Families Party in New York, and volunteered for Ken Thompson’s historic campaign (and upset victory!)—New York’s first Black district attorney. I’ve organized with Student Workers of Columbia (UAW) and the Communication Workers of America (AFL-CIO), and worked for the Presidential Administration of Georgia (ask me the full, crazy story!), organizing international democracy conferences after that nation’s peaceful revolution. Here in Somerville, I am an active member of the Somerville Community Land Trust—if you don’t know what that is, you should definitely check it out!

My wife Kate Cortesi and I live in Winter Hill with our two daughters, both in Somerville Public Schools. I believe local government should reflect the courage, care, and follow-through of the community it serves—and that all good policy begins with listening.