Ben Milder, principal, joined Burness in 1999. He directs a number of major projects and advises clients across a range of issues in health and health care, from spreading new models of knowledge-sharing in medical education to looking beyond U.S. borders for ideas from abroad to improve health and well-being. He leads the company’s work in the policy space, developing and implementing strategies to advance clients’ ideas in the policy world. His work involves regular contact with government, media, philanthropy and interest groups.

Internally, Ben guides the company’s organizational learning strategy. He also sits on the steering committee of frank, a community of public interest communications practitioners and researchers focused on elevating the science of communications to drive social change.

Prior to joining Burness, Ben spent two years with the Washington, D.C., firm of Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds and served as an aide to U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.

A northern California native and father of two daughters, Ben is a lifetime San Francisco Giants fan and a more recent rock climbing enthusiast. His self-professed claim to fame is that he spent part of his childhood living in a yurt.