Ben graduated from Brown University with a degree in political science in 1977. Shortly after graduating he completed Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps where served as an Air Control Officer for three years.
After leaving active duty completed a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Texas in 1983. He then he moved to Dallas Tx where worked for Harris Corp. He moved to Denver CO in 1985 to join his brother as the co owners of National Printing and Packaging, a commercial printing business.
In January 1999 he was appointed as Colorado’s Deputy State Treasurer where he was responsible for all aspects of the department’s operations including investments, cash management, unclaimed property, debt issuance, accounting and the oversight of 23 professional and support employees.
In November 2006 Stein left the Colorado State Treasury to become the Budget Director for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). At CDOT he oversaw the development and execution of the annual budget for the department which then had an annual budget in excess of $1 billion and more than 3,000 employees.
In October 2010, Stein was selected to become CDOT’s Chief Financial Officer (Senior Executive Service). As the CFO he was a member of the Department’s Executive Management Team. He oversaw the Office of Financial Management and Budget and the Center for Accounting. As a member of the Executive Management Team, he reported directly to to the Executive Director and the Transportation Commission on policy issues impacting the entire department as well as on accounting, finance, and budgetary matters.
During his tenure at CDOT he also managed numerous complex financial transactions. These included private placements, the inaugural issuance of bonds by the Colorado Bridge Enterprise, the U.S 36 Public Private Partnership, and the I-70 Central Viaduct replacement project.
In July 2013 Stein transitioned to CDOT’s Office of Major Project Development. In this role he took on the responsibility for the financial aspects of all impending project in excess of $100 million.
In July 2014, Stein retired from the CDOT and became the Chief of Staff to U.S. Representative Mike Coffman, Colorado District 6 responsible to the for the effective operation of both the district office and the capitol office and was his primary advisor on legislation.
After the 2018 election, Ben returned to the transportation industry and became a Project Director for Atkins Realis. His primary clients were the City and County of Denver where he was a portfolio manager on the Elevate Denver Bond program and Georgia’s State Road and Toll Authority where he adivsed on its I-285 and SR-400 public private partnership efforts.
In addition to Stein’s civilian career, he served as an officer in the Marine Corps Reserve where held command from the platoon to the group level. He retired from the Marine Corps Reserve as a Colonel in 2007.