Research and Program Officer

Benjamin Marks joined First Nations Development Institute as a research and program officer in July of 2012 after previously interning for First Nations in 2008.  He supports the Director of Research and Programs at the Native Assets Research Center in the fields of asset building, financial literacy, and  managing grantees by conducting research and data collection, performing detailed analysis, evaluating projects, and reviewing previous literature. 

In addition to serving as a research intern at First Nations during his senior year of college, Benjamin served as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer at Rural Dynamics, Inc. in Montana.  During this time, he developed a financial education program for low-income Montanans that is now being utilized throughout the region, worked closely with the Montana Financial Education Coalition performing communications and outreach, and played a significant role in bringing people together across the state to form a State Asset Building Coalition.

Benjamin recently received his M.A. in sociology from the University of California, Riverside in 2012 and he graduated from the University of Mary Washington in 2008 with a B.A. in sociology.  He currently resides in Fredericksburg, VA.