Ben Self

Ben Self is the former chairman of the Kentucky Democratic Party, having been elected in November 2017.[1][2] He was a co-founder for digital strategy firm Blue State Digital[3] and is co-founder of West Sixth Brewery in Lexington, Kentucky.[4][5]

Ben Self
Chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party
In office
November 11, 2017 – November 14, 2020
Preceded bySannie Overly
Succeeded byColmon Elridge
Personal details
Born1977 (age 43–44)
Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Becca
Children2
EducationMassachusetts Institute of Technology (BS, MS)

Early life

He grew up in Lexington his entire youth[6] and after graduating from high school, went off to Boston to study electrical engineering and computer science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating with a bachelor's in 1999[7] and completing a master's in 2000.[4][8]

After university, Self moved to the Washington, D.C. suburbs, starting a job as an government IT consultant for now-defunct American Management Systems.

Dean Campaign & Blue State Digital

His shifted industries when he departed professional consulting and volunteered for the Howard Dean presidential campaign, starting in the fall of 2003.[9] Because of the application of new media and digital to political campaigns, in a 2011 interview with PBS's One-on-One, Self stated "we didn't know at the time, but [it] was changing the world of politics forever."[9] It was on the ill-fated, but technologically progressive campaign that he crossed paths with Jascha Franklin-Hodge, Clay Johnson, and Joe Rospars.

The four of them would go on to found Blue State Digital following the end of the Dean campaign in early 2004,[10] to commercialize the technology powering the campaign and apply them to Democratic political campaigns and causes around the United States. He remained a partner in the firm while serving as the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) technology director from 2005 to 2009. As director, he oversaw the overhaul of critical platforms to help power the Democrats to regaining the majority in Congress during the United States elections of 2006.

His final year at the DNC, he and his team helped support the presidential campaign for Barack Obama, in partnership with his firm, Blue State Digital and the technology staff for the campaign. He left the DNC following Obama's first inauguration, spending a little over a year working back with his company. His final year involved work in Australia[11] to help then-prime minister Kevin Rudd engage the public and use technology in political campaigns.[12]

After Blue State Digital

In January 2010, he sold his stake in Blue State Digital and planted himself full-time back in his hometown of Lexington.[2] While living in Kentucky, he founded a brewery, West Sixth Brewery.

Self is a native of and currently lives in Lexington with his wife, Becca, and their two children.[6]

References
  1. "West Sixth Brewery co-founder is the new chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party". kentucky. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  2. "His online work helped elect Obama. Can he rebuild Kentucky's Democratic Party?". kentucky. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  3. "The Council of State Governments". www.csg.org. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  4. "Lexington, Ky., warms to green revolution in former bread factory - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  5. "Craft brewery with tap room to occupy part of former Lexington bakery". kentucky. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  6. "Power Couple 2010: Ben Self and Becca Self 2.11.2010". Ace Weekly. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  7. "Projects | The Structure of Engineering Revolutions | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | MIT OpenCourseWare". ocw.mit.edu. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  8. "Ben Self | LinkedIn".
  9. Ben Self | One to One | PBS, retrieved 2018-04-30
  10. "36_Clay Johnson Ben Self Jascha Franklin-Hodge and Joe Rospars". Fast Company. 2006-12-20. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  11. "The secrets of Obama's success". ABC News. 2009-02-12. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  12. "Obama's web strategist to advise Rudd - web - Technology - smh.com.au". www.smh.com.au. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Sannie Overly		 Chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party
2017–present		 Incumbent
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