Ben Jones is a rising junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he is pursuing majors in Political Science and Peace, War, & Defense with a minor in Mandarin. A Morehead-Cain Scholar, Ben has interned for the Minority Leader of the North Carolina House of Representatives and for a judge at the North Carolina Court of Appeals.  

Ben is passionate about strengthening democratic institutions in the US and supporting democracy abroad. He will intern this summer for the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, D.C. and Manila, the Philippines. Ben also has extensive experience in political organizing, having worked on local, state, and federal campaigns in North Carolina.  

At UNC, Ben serves as Deputy Student Body Secretary, Admissions Ambassador, Agora Fellow for Public Discourse, and a Carolina Diplomacy Fellow. Ben also serves on the Board of Directors for The Daily Tar Heel, and his writing has been published in The Charlotte Observer. Last summer, Ben conducted a UNC Summer Research Fellowship studying European civil society networks.  

After graduation, Ben plans to attend law school with a focus on appellate litigation and public interest. In his free time, Ben enjoys hiking and backpacking, and he grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina.