Benjamin Hart grew up in the 19th ward and attended Rochester City schools. During these formative years, he saw firsthand the complex problems that far too many members of the Rochester community face. After experiencing his own set of personal setbacks, he became increasingly interested in how his home was a protective factor and a privilege that nurtured his resilience. Home ownership and even fundamental housing stability is a privilege denied or restricted by historical and current injustices. Working in the health and human service field opened Benjamin Hart’s eyes to the interconnectedness of housing to so many other social issues. His company, Hart Homes LLC is a manifestation of that ideal for a better way of providing housing and provides safe and affordable housing in the form of 9 residential rental units and will only continue to grow in impact. As a Saunders MBA student, Benjamin is very grateful to the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem at RIT and benefited in particular from the 2024 RIT Summer Accelerator program. He is a recipient of the RIT Center for Urban Entrepreneurship's People's Choice award in the 2024 ROC the Pitch cohort.