In May 2004, Ben will complete his Master's Degree in Public Policy and Administration at the University at Albany. He is focusing on information strategy management and his thesis project deals with helping public organizations best use technology for their information needs.

I originally came to CTG in June 2003 as a summer intern in the Outreach Department. My main work that summer revolved around designing the newsletter. That fall I joined the information solutions department and began working on the State-Local Internet Gateway Prototype project.

Before coming to UAlbany, I worked in Japan for six years teaching English. Then, as a first year master's student, I worked as a graduate assistant for Professor Julian Zelizer at the Rockefeller School of Public Affairs and Policy. Working for him I mostly did research on the history of congress for the book he was working on.

This place has an incredible reputation on the local, national, and international levels. Working at CTG has allowed me to participate in some really innovative research, research that will be incredibly important in the future. Another aspect that sets CTG apart is that the research is practically-based, and can be applied almost immediately to any organization.

I have done most of the quantitative research for the State-Local Internet Gateway Project. I have also helped with writing reports. Mostly, though, I have been used for support in multiple areas.

If I work in the private sector I would like to be a consultant for government agencies to help them with systems integration. If I work in the public sector I would look into different agencies such as the Office for Technology. Basically anything to stay working with government and technology.

Being at CTG has given me the opportunity to deal with questions that are going to be very important in the future. Because CTG deals with cutting-edge research, it is often ahead of the average government agency. Working here puts me in a good position to add value to any agency I might work with in the future.

When I was in Japan I was involved in free-style Japanese hip-hop shows.