Ben Stone, Stone Strategies' founding principal, is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in urban/rural planning and strategy, cultural policy, economic development, and place-based equitable revitalization. Trained as an urban planner and visual artist, Ben works at the intersection of these worlds. He brings artists into policy discussions and partners planners and civil engineers with artists to create projects, programs, and policies that make our communities more livable, viable, and equitable.

Ben most recently served as the National Endowment for the Arts’ director of Design and Creative Placemaking from 2023 through 2025. In this position, he managed the NEA’s grantmaking for design and creative placemaking, and oversaw the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, the Citizens’ Institute for Rural Design, and the Creative Placemaking Technical Assistance Program.

Previously, Ben served as a senior advisor at the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University, where he helped cities access Bipartisan Infrastructure Funding via the Local Infrastructure Hub, and trained municipal leaders on civic engagement best practices. Ben also served as Smart Growth America and Transportation for America’s  inaugural director of Arts & Culture, leading the advocacy organization’s efforts to integrate the arts into neighborhood revitalization, equitable development, and transportation planning and design. Prior to SGA, Ben served as executive director for Station North Arts and Entertainment Inc., where he transformed central Baltimore’s arts district into a national model for arts-based revitalization, civic engagement, and creative placemaking.

With more than twenty years of experience, Ben has worked in 37 states, visited 48 states, and funded projects in all 50 states.

Ben earned a Master in City Planning from MIT, a BA in American Studies from Tufts University, and BFA in Studio Art from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

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