Ben Hecht

President and CEO

 

Mr. Hecht is an experienced nonprofit executive, author and social entrepreneur. He was appointed President & CEO of Living Cities in July, 2007 to lead the organization’s new and ambitious agenda to transform the lives of low-income people as well as the urban neighborhoods in which they live. In 2000, he co-founded One Economy Corporation, a nonprofit organization that has become one of the most effective vehicles for social change in the nation.  Mr. Hecht led the growth of the organization from 3 employees to a $15 million organization with 50+ staff, online media properties serving more than 150,000 low-income people a month, and programs in 40 states, the Middle East and Africa. 

Immediately before One Economy, Mr. Hecht was Senior Vice President at the Enterprise Foundation.  In that capacity, he led the organization’s efforts beyond housing – building well-respected programs in childcare, workforce development and economic development.  Under his leadership, the number of community-based organizations working with the Foundation doubled from 750 to more than 1,500 in 48 states; capitalization of the organization’s revolving loan fund grew from $30 million to $200 million; and regional networks of nonprofit organizations linked by technology were born in New England and the Northwest.
 
Mr. Hecht received his JD from Georgetown University Law Center and his CPA from the State of Maryland.  For 10 years, he taught at Georgetown University Law Center and built the premier housing and community development clinical program in the country.  In 1992, with Congressional support, Mr. Hecht founded the National Center for Tenant Ownership at Georgetown, a program facilitating affordable housing development by nonprofits and tenant groups nationwide. 

Mr. Hecht has written three books, ManagingNonprofits.org (2001) with Rey Ramsey, Developing Affordable Housing: A Practical Guide for Nonprofit Organizations (3rd Edition, 2006) and Managing Affordable Housing: A Practical Guide for Building Stable Communities (1996), all published by John Wiley & Sons. 

Prior to his work at Georgetown, Mr. Hecht worked for the public accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand in Washington and served as counsel to the nonprofit, National Rural Development and Finance Corporation.  He has been an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center for 17 years, teaching accounting concepts for lawyers.  In 1997, he was awarded Georgetown’s prestigious Charles Fahy Distinguished Adjunct Professor Award.  Over the years, Mr. Hecht has served on the boards of nonprofit housing organizations in Cleveland, Denver, New York and Portland, Oregon, and on the national boards of numerous organizations.  He currently sits on the Georgetown Day School and One Economy Boards of Directors.