Benjamin Castleman

Benjamin Castleman is professor of public policy and education in the Frank Batten School of Public Policy at the University of Virginia (UVA). He has been the Newton and Rita Meyers Associate Professor in the Economics of Education at UVA and a senior advisor to former First Lady Michelle Obama's Reach Higher Initiative. His research focuses on policies and strategies to improve postsecondary educational and workforce outcomes for individuals from lower income and historically marginalized communities, with a special focus on innovations to increase economic mobility among lower wage adults, including digital- and health-skills training programs; state-funded career and technical education; and competency-based education models for working adults. He has presented his research at several White House convenings and in testimony before Congress; it has appeared in public policy and economics journals (including The Journal of Labor Economics, The Journal of Public Economics, The Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, and The Journal of Human Resources); and it has been given media coverage on National Public Radio and in The New York Times, Time Magazine, and the Washington Post. Castleman received his EdD in quantitative policy analysis from Harvard University.

updated 2024