Val Benson is the Research Director for the Center for Impact Finance at the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy. With 20 years of experience, her work focuses on advancing research and evaluation to address economic disparities. She believes that public policies work best when they are grounded in evidence, and that research promoting the rigor of both what we study and how we study can spark meaningful change. Prior to joining the Center, Val founded Benson Consulting where she worked closely with organizations and funders to design and carry out learning and evaluation initiatives to guide strategic decision-making on issues related to housing, community development, and sustainability.
Prior to forming Benson Consulting, Val served as Principal Associate and Director of Income Security and Economic Mobility at MEF Associates where she oversaw a growing portfolio of research, evaluation, and technical assistance projects on topics related to workforce development, financial capability, housing, and income security for federal, state, and local partners.
During her time at Abt Associates, Val led data collection and analysis tasks for several large-scale, mixed-method evaluation projects for the U.S. Departments of Labor, Housing and Urban Development, and Health and Human Services. She also worked at NeighborWorks America where she helped manage grantee compliance and quality assurance for the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program. Val holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Policy Studies from The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.
