Employee Spotlight
Benjamin Alfaro - June Featured Employee
Benjamin is a graduate of University of Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Leadership program and Wayne State University’s Urban and International Studies program. An accomplished writer and arts administrator originally from Michigan, Benjamin has designed, implemented, and led several successful public programs, workshops, and community events while serving for more than a decade as a teaching artist in Detroit public high schools. In the Twin Cities, he has served a wide range of capital development, program evaluation, and consulting roles at Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Northside Achievement Zone, Hennepin Theatre Trust, Hallie Q. Brown Community Center, Hennepin History Museum, and other community organizations. He currently serves as the board secretary and fundraising chair for the Twin Cities Men’s Center, where he supports the advancement of accessible behavioral health programs and resources for families in crisis. When not at JMA, Benjamin enjoys traveling, watching sports, and spending time with family.
Every day at JMA is a new adventure depending on the week. My work primarily consists of proposal writing for grants and reports, communications writing for marketing and events, research for donor prospects and special projects, along with outreach.
The best part of working at JMA is the opportunity to collaborate with the dynamic team to find new ways to solve problems and deliver the best possible product for our clients.
My proudest moment at JMA was at the end of an extremely busy week with an abundance of complex projects all due at once. In that moment, I realized pressure brings out my best work and I showed my colleagues they can depend on me. That mentality was a clear point of demarcation for me at JMA and I now feel prepared and equipped to take on the challenges ahead.
Collaborative; adaptive; ambitious.
Outside of JMA, I am the board secretary for the Twin Cities Men’s Center, where I support their work leading behavioral health programs and initiatives focused on emotional wellness, healing, and mental health awareness. It’s an area of work I am deeply committed to and hope to grow in the years ahead.
A fresh-caught lobster feast on the coast of Belize – ocean to plate in less than an hour! That meal had to have happened at least 10 years ago, but I still think about it at least once a week.