Benson came to Samvada as a student in 1994  when he was studying sociology at St. Joseph’s College of Arts and Science. He trained in urban and rural community development from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and has been working in the development sector for over 20 years now. During this period, he has been associated with child rights issues, anti-communalism initiatives, worked for Greenpeace as a climate change campaigner and also worked as Faculty of Social Work at St. Joseph’s College. Through his involvement with Samvada, he has done extensive work in sensitising and mobilising youth around social change, trained youth in alternative livelihoods and contributed to developing the body of knowledge around youth studies.