Educational Programs
Troutbeck Symposium (2021 - Present) - Co-founder
Summer Video Exploration Program with the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area (2017-2021) - Founder
The Marvelwood School Video Exploration Program (2016-2024) - Supervising Instructor
The Civic Life Project (2011-2016) - Operations Manager/Production Coordinator
About Ben
Ben began his filmmaking career in 2009 documenting the disappearing folk art traditions of the American Southwest. He went on to work with Magic Stone Productions which produced two documentary feature films: Best Worst Movie and The American Scream. Ben then moved into feature film production as an assistant director, working on many indie feature films and shorts in New York and Connecticut. In 2021 he moved to Vermont, first running the company Vermontcast, managing a team of multi-media journalists and in 2022 moved on to producing short documentaries and news pieces for the long running television show Across The Fence
Awards
2023
Edward R Murrow Award Nominee
For episodes produced on Across The Fence.
2021
CT Arts Fellow
For teaching & community building during the Covid-19 pandemic.
2017
IMAX: In Focus
One of just 5 teachers nationwide selected.
2016
National Association of Secretaries of State.
Awarded to the Civic Life Project for dynamic models of civic education using video storytelling
Education Work: How it all started:
Ben’s teaching career began while he was working as an editor for the Emmy Award-winning documentary company Global Village Media. The company had founded a civics-focused nonprofit called the Civic Life Project. In 2011, Ben stepped into the classroom to help a group of inner-city youth create a film about their community.
The first day was a tough one, and at the end one of the students asked “will you be coming back?” Ben replied “Everyday, until our movie is finished.” When the film was finished and screened word began to spread and the students landed a meeting with the mayor of Bridgeport, CT to address their concerns. They presented Ben with a large thank you card which they had all signed, it still hangs in his office today. That experience changed everything. You can see their film here.
Ben went on to spend four years running operations for the Civic Life Project, a tenure that culminated in the organization being recognized by the National Association of Secretaries of State for its innovative use of video storytelling in civic education.
From there, Ben dove headfirst into teaching, building an award-winning film program at The Marvelwood School. At the same time, he launched a summer program in collaboration with a local heritage area, offering students paid opportunities to create short documentaries exploring cultural, historical, and environmental stories from the Housatonic River Valley.
Today, Ben continues to merge education and storytelling through his work with the Troutbeck Symposium, where students develop visual and performance-based works inspired by their own research into undertold local histories.
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