Mayor Steve Benjamin is a Co-Chair of BGR Group’s Advisory Board. Steve was previously a member of the Advisory Board before he served as a Senior Advisor to President Biden and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. He brings decades of experience in government, public engagement, and municipal leadership to his work with BGR and its clients. He is a remarkably credentialed and distinguished leader who connects people and builds coalitions to find solutions to tough challenges.
Prior to his service in the Biden-Harris administration, Steve was the Mayor of Columbia, South Carolina from April 2010 through December 2021. During his time as Mayor, he served as President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors (2018-2019), as President of the African American Mayors Association, Vice Chairman of the Global Parliament of Mayors, Executive Chairman of Municipal Bonds for America, Chairman of the FirstNet Authority, a Member of the Federal Communications Commission’s Intergovernmental Advisory Committee.
Mayor Benjamin also has a background in education. He was the Spring 2022 Richard L. and Ronay A. Menschel Senior Leadership Fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He previously served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of South Carolina’s top ranked Honors College teaching a course titled “Columbia, South Carolina: Building a Great City” and is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi and Sigma Pi Phi fraternities. Benjamin is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he served as President of Student Government and as President of the Student Bar Association.
Areas of Focus
- State and Local Engagement
- Infrastructure Development
- Advisory Services
Education
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University of South Carolina
B.A., Political Science and Government -
University of South Carolina School of Law
Juris Doctorate