River Benjamin A. Email & Phone Number

Wellington, New Zealand

Managed and professionalised the external communications for a national LGBT+ non-profit organisation during a period of significant organisational growth and political scrutiny.Developed a successful communications strategy focused on delivering informative, culturally-relevant and visually-striking content designed to stand out in a competitive attention economy. I doubled the organisation's digital following and helped build its reputation as a source of high-quality information and intersectional advocacy.Led copywriting, editing, graphic design, photography and videography to:1) Communicate information about rainbow communities and relevant political developments in an effective, engaging and accessible way.2) Mobilise community members and allies to attend in-person rallies and actions.3) Increase event and programme attendance.Improved the information experience design and increased the accessibility of the organization’s three websites, building and then launching two of them from the ground up.Proactively built relationships with other organisations and practitioners, collaborating on cross-sector campaigns, petitions and legislative submissions on subjects such as equitable access to healthcare and digital harm and disinformation.

Mound Bayou, Mississippi

As part of the Robertson Scholarship Community Summer, I worked alongside two other scholars to devise and implement a multimedia summer school curriculum for students aged 7 – 15 in Mound Bayou, a historically significant town in the Mississippi Delta. Worked with a PhD candidate at the UNC Centre for the Study of the American South to conduct archival research analysing the development of Mound Bayou, one of the oldest historically African American towns in the United States. The project culminated in us using our research to write and direct a play about the founding of Mound Bayou with the students enrolled in our summer programme.

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), International Comparative Studies

Robertson Scholar (Class of 2020) Major Capstone Project: Reconstituting settler selves – autoethnography as a critical practice.

Llb/Ba, Law, Political Science, Economics, Chinese

Attended University of Otago as an LLB/BA candidate on Full Scholarship from the Faculty of Law before transferring to Duke University.

Education record

2013 New Zealand Outstanding Scholar: Scholarships in English, Chemistry, Physics, Calculus, Statistics, Geography Outstanding Scholarship.