Ben Field was elected to the post of Executive Officer for the South Bay Labor Council in December 2012. He is responsible for running the largest, most sophisticated, grassroots political campaign operation in the South Bay. He oversees political campaign work carried out by the Labor Council's Committee on Political Education (COPE) advocating for candidates and public policies that are good for working families. After graduating with a degree in Political Science from Columbia University in 1986, Ben worked as a legislative aide to Congressman Don Edwards and later on the United States Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Development. He earned a law degree and a PhD in American History from the University of California at Berkeley and served in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1988-1998. He has authored several articles and a book on history and the law.