Ben Wessel is the Director of NextGen Rising, the youth vote organizing arm of NextGen America. In this role, Ben works to elect candidates who support progressive policies with a focus on mobilizing the voters who care most the issues: young people. NextGen Rising works across 10 states, focusing on elections from President to state legislature. In 2016, Ben was named one of the "16 Young Americans Shaping the 2016 Election" by Rolling Stone magazine.

Before joining NextGen in 2014, Ben worked for Cory Booker’s campaign for US Senate in New Jersey, as the Political Campaigns Manager for 350.org Action, and as the Youth Vote Director for President Obama’s reelection campaign in New Hampshire. HIs work in the youth climate movement has taken him from a Russian research vessel in the Norwegian Arctic to the halls of Congress and state capitols across the country. He is a board member of the Alliance for Youth Action and a native of the District of Columbia.