Thinking together is a better way to move us forward.

About Me

That’s me – Benjamin D. Winig, JD, MPA. I’m the Founder of ThinkForward Strategies. Before that I served for many years as Vice President of Law & Policy at ChangeLab Solutions, a national nonprofit dedicated to building healthy and equitable communities. I served on the organization’s Executive Team and oversaw legal interventions across the country. Before that I was a municipal lawyer (also for many years) at a private law firm where I represented cities and other public agencies in and around the Bay Area.

In 2008, I took a brief leave from lawyering to work on the Obama presidential campaign. Before that I did various stints overseas and was in school (also for many years).

I’ve written a bunch about a bunch of things, including forward-thinking legislation that has been adopted in jurisdictions across the country. Much of my recent work has focused on legal and policy innovations aimed at decreasing health disparities, including how inter-agency collaboration can help dismantle barriers that impede good governance and power sharing between state and local governments. My colleagues and I recently published a piece examining the connections between state preemption and equity. That was fun (seriously).

I speak at a fair number of conferences around the country and appear in the media from time to time, including national outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post.

l graduated from the University of Michigan and earned my law degree and master’s in public affairs (with a concentration in public policy analysis) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

I live in the Bay Area, am a husband of one and father of two. I’ve served on the board of national organizations (e.g., Bend the Arc), local organizations (e.g., the Walnut Creek Education Foundation) and am currently on the Board of Trustees at the Seven Hills School. Family, community, and travel (in that order) are my passions. Okay, enough about me.

Please get in touch if you want to learn more.