CFR Welcomes Ben Chang as Vice President of Global Communications  

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is pleased to welcome Ben Chang as vice president of Global Communications. Chang will start on November 20, based in New York City.  

“We are delighted to welcome Ben to the Council,” said CFR President Michael Froman. “Ben is an experienced and dynamic communicator with a background in government, nonprofits, and foreign affairs. He will work directly with me and our senior leadership team on positioning and promoting the Council, its experts, and its products as we expand our reach and seek to have an even greater impact.”

Chang served as director for press and communications in the White House National Security Council under the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations and as deputy spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. He was a U.S. foreign service officer for almost two decades, with postings overseas and domestically, including the U.S. Mission to the OECD and the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador. He also served as the associate administrator for communications and public liaison at the Small Business Administration. 

“I am excited to help advance CFR’s mission of providing independent and nonpartisan expertise, analysis, and perspective at a time of global challenges, when America’s role in the world is more important than ever,” said Chang. “CFR is the nation’s premier foreign policy think tank, and I am honored to be joining its team.”  

Chang comes to CFR from Columbia University, where he has been vice president for communications and university spokesperson for the past two and a half years. Prior to Columbia, he was deputy vice president for communications and university spokesperson at Princeton University, managing director in the public affairs and crisis practice of the global public relations firm Burson-Marsteller, and vice president for events at the Los Angeles Times. 

Chang is a member of the board of directors of Global Ties U.S., the country’s largest and longest-serving citizen diplomacy network supporting international exchange and public diplomacy programs across the United States. He also is on the board of the Council for a Livable World, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization promoting policies to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons.  

Chang has a BS from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.