Ben Cairns, MPA

Education

• Master Of Public Affairs, CU Denver
• School Leadership and Principal Licensure, University of Denver
• BA Philosophy, Wheaton College

Awards/Publications

• Presented at Colorado Youth for a Change Panel:  Innovation through a Pandemic: What We’ve Learned and What We’ll Carry Forward
• Presented at Changelab Solutions Panel: Policy Solutions to Address Systemic Racism in Education
• Presented at the 2018 Public Health Law Conference in Phoenix on the topic of Restorative Justice and Public Health
• Presented at the 2019 National Association of Community and Restorative Justice
• Gonzalez, Thalia N.C. and Cairns, Benjamin. “Moving Beyond Exclusion.”  Justice for Kids, Edited by Nancy E. Dowd, New York, USA: New York University Press, 2011.
• Supported with and participated in the Study: Building Health and WellBeing in Schools: A Study of Restorative Justice Practices and Girls of Color 
• Recognized in Chalkbeat Article:  How a Colorado school district turned things around at 10,000 feet above sea level
• Recognized by the Colorado Trust: A Rural School Tries a New Approach to Discipline
• Presented at multiple school districts from 2008-2016 including Adams 12, Adams 14, Boulder Valley, Aurora Public Schools, Gunnison Public Schools, Santa Barbara Public Schools (CA),
• Appointed member of the 2011 Legislative Task Force to Study School Discipline leading to SB-12-46

Family

Wife, Celesta, two teenage boys, Matt and Jake.

Personal Interests

All forms of skiing: alpine, ski mountaineering, backcountry, nordic, racing, etc. Mountain biking, mountaineering, hiking, fly fishing and trail running. I also enjoy speaking Spanish, traveling, reading, public affairs, politics and policy and connecting with diverse cultures.