Former Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin returns as senior advisor at Civint, the company he founded in 2022
September 15, 2025
Former Columbia Mayor and White House senior advisor Steve Benjamin has returned to Columbia-based Civint, the consulting firm he founded in 2022. He returns to the company as Senior Advisor.
Benjamin founded Civint as a nationally-focused municipal advocacy and consulting firm before his appointment by President Joe Biden to serve as senior advisor and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. In this role at Civint, Benjamin will work alongside CEO Sam Johnson and COO Rania Jamison to guide the firm’s growing base of national clients working at the intersection of local government and business.
Sam Johnson, Civint CEO; Rania Jamison, Civint COO, former Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin
“We called the company Civint because we know civic intelligence. Clients work with Civint because we understand from the front lines the challenges local governments face and the relationships that help get things done,” Benjamin said. “My focus is on helping organizations build trust, align their goals with those of city leaders, and arrive at lasting solutions to real-world problems.”
Civint partners with public and private sector clients around the country looking to navigate municipal processes, build partnerships with city leaders, and shape strategies that improve lives at the local level. The firm draws on Benjamin’s national network of municipal officials and his deep experience as both a public servant and a private sector attorney.
“Mayor Benjamin’s return to Civint is a full-circle moment not just for our firm, but for the work we’re doing across the country,” said Johnson. “His experience at the highest levels of government and his deep understanding of how cities work make him an invaluable partner and leader. Together, we’re focused on helping our clients build meaningful relationships with local leaders and deliver real impact in communities.”
In the launch episode of Civint’s new podcast, “Civint City Podcast,” Benjamin joins Johnson and Jamison in conversation about Civint’s vision and the role the company plays to bring together public and private sector leaders around the idea of partnership building.
“City leadership is where things really happen in this world,” Benjamin said during the podcast conversation. “Serving as a leader in bringing together solid, pragmatic, positive solutions to the real challenges facing American cities, we hope to be of value to folks on the public side, the private side, and the philanthropic community as well.”
In this episode, these three Civint leaders leave viewers and listeners with some sound advice around good fiscal stewardship, leading at the local level without regard to political lines, and just listening to what people have to say. Listen to the launch episode.
A graduate of the University of South Carolina and its Joseph F. Rice School of Law, Benjamin also previously served as the director of South Carolina’s Department of Probation, Pardon and Parole and in private law practice before his election as mayor of Columbia in 2010. During his tenure as mayor, Benjamin led efforts to revitalize Columbia’s downtown, improve public infrastructure, and elevate the city’s national profile. He also served as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the African American Mayors Association.
After deciding not to seek a third term in 2021, President Biden tapped Benjamin to serve in a senior White House role focused on outreach to community leaders, businesses, and advocacy organizations across the country.
