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Abby Benson

Abby Benson

Associate Vice President of Government Relations
University of Colorado

Contact Abby Benson

Abby Benson can provide information and assistance to students interested in learning more about working with or for federal and state government. She can help put students in touch with congressional offices if they are interested in internships. She provides guidance to CSTPR on the annual AAAS CASE Workshop competition.

 

Biography

Abby Benson currently serves as Associate Vice President of Government Relations at the University of Colorado. In this role, Abby ensures the flow of information between the university and relevant stakeholders in Colorado and Washington, DC, and advocates for increased support of CU priorities, including research and higher education funding and policies, at both the state and federal levels.  

Abby has served in several leadership roles in the higher education government relations community, including as past Chair of the Association of American Universities (AAU) Council on Federal Relations and as a member of the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU) Council on Government Affairs Executive Committee. In 2012, Abby also served as President of the Science Coalition, an organization dedicated to strengthening the federal government’s investment in university-based scientific, medical, engineering and agricultural research.

Prior to joining CU, Abby held the position of Assistant Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Washington, DC office. Abby also served for over nine years as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, with specialties in maritime safety, security, environmental protection, planning, and budgeting.  Earlier in her career, Abby worked as an earth scientist for Tetra Tech and Arthur D. Little.

Abby earned a BS in geology and geophysics from Yale University; earned a MS and MEng in transportation and logistics from MIT; and served as a Marshall Memorial Fellow in 2009.