Born in Peoria, Illinois, Ben Barnes is a graduate of Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt. He earned his B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1998 and his J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 2003. His career includes work as a field coordinator for the Development Department at People for the American Way from 1999 to 2000, and as a legislative aide to the Maryland Senate President from 2000 to 2004. He served as a law clerk to Judge James J. Lombardi in the Prince George's County Circuit Court from 2004 to 2005. He practiced as an attorney with the Law Offices of Donna L. Crary, P.A. from 2005 to 2011, and has served as a partner at Hall, Butler, Macleay & Barnes, LLC since 2011. First elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2006, he has been a member of the House since 2007.
