Benjamin R. Dierker, JD, MPA
Executive Director, Director of Public Policy
Benjamin Dierker is the Executive Director of Aii, specializing in the economic, administrative, and legal aspects of American energy, transportation, infrastructure, and innovation policy. His work focuses on explaining the practical realities that shape public policy at the state and federal levels, with an emphasis on helping policymakers, industry leaders, students, researchers, and the public make better-informed decisions on critical infrastructure issues.
Benjamin’s work centers on public policy research, writing, and communication across complex infrastructure topics. He is a prolific author of policy blogs, opinion articles, briefs, white papers, and research reports, with primary subject-matter expertise in construction and utility safety, excavation damage prevention, and the protection of underground infrastructure. He is coauthor of the book Holding Back Disaster: Protecting Lives and Infrastructure Through Excavation Damage Prevention, published by Routledge and has presented research and commentary at national and industry events on damage prevention, energy systems, utility safety, infrastructure resilience, and regulatory innovation.
Benjamin also serves as a board member of the North American Private Utility Association, an organization focused on improving safety, clarity, and accountability in private property ground disturbance. Through this work and his research at Aii, Benjamin helps advance practical, evidence-based approaches to reducing excavation damage, improving information flow, and strengthening the systems that protect buried infrastructure.
Benjamin has been with Aii since shortly after its launch, originally joining as a public policy intern while in graduate school. Before joining the team full-time, he held a number of public policy fellowships and legal clerkships. He previously served as a law clerk for the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee and participated in congressional internships spanning member district offices, Capitol offices, and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. Throughout his education, Benjamin studied directly under prominent economic, public policy, and legal scholars, including multiple federal judges and a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
While in law school, Benjamin helped in the early stages of launching a next-generation think tank in Dallas, Texas. He was instrumental in providing written content for the institute and working with its directors to establish long-term policy and organizational goals.
Benjamin is a graduate of Texas A&M University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Master of Public Administration from the Bush School of Government and Public Service. He then earned his Juris Doctor from the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. Benjamin is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and the South Carolina Bar.
Fun Fact:
As a student, Benjamin participated in Invention Convention, the Future City Competition, and even on a team for the Solar Car Challenge.
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