Ben Hecht

Summary

Ben Hecht is the Principal and Founder of Reclaiming the Dream LLC. The organization partners with the public, private and philanthropic sectors to help them to dream big and do big things, together. Most recently, he was President and CEO of Living Cities, a long-standing collaborative of 18 of the world’s leading foundations and financial institutions. From 2007-2021, Ben led the transformation of this consortium into one of the nation’s leading racial economic justice organizations ——marrying the organization’s legacy focus on improving the built environment in neighborhoods with a holistic approach to changing the interlocking systems that shape the life outcomes of the people who live there. Prior to joining Living Cities, Ben co-founded One Economy Corporation, a non-profit organization focused on connecting low-income people to the economic mainstream through innovative, online content and increased broadband access. Over 7 years, the organization grew from four employees into a $12 million social enterprise with fifty staff, online media properties serving 150,000 low-income people a month, and programs in forty states, the Middle East and Africa. Immediately before One Economy, Ben was Senior Vice President at the Enterprise Foundation where he led the organization’s efforts beyond housing – into childcare, workforce development, and economic development. He also oversaw the expansion of the organization’s revolving loan fund from $30 million to $200 million. An attorney and CPA, Ben taught at Georgetown University Law Center for ten years and was awarded Georgetown’s Charles Fahy Distinguished Adjunct Professor Award. He has written four books, including Reclaiming the American Dream: Proven Solutions for Creating Economic Opportunity for All (Brookings Press, 2018) and Developing Affordable Housing: A Practical Guide for Nonprofit Organizations (John Wiley & Sons, 3rd edition, 2007). Ben is currently a Lecturer in Urban Planning and Design at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and Chairman of Duke University’s Center for Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) Advisory Council. He has been selected as one of the Top 100 City Innovators Worldwide in the area of Urban Policy and as a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Resident Fellow. Learn more at http//:ben-hecht.com