Benming “Benny” Zhang ’16, J.D. ’20
Associate Attorney at Kaufman & Canoles, P.C.
Major:
Asian-American Studies ({{https://www.wm.edu/as/selfdesigned/index.php,Self-Designed}})
Benming “Benny” Zhang has been an active member of the community since arriving at William & Mary as a Sharpe Community Scholar. As a freshman, he worked with a fellow Sharpe scholar to start a tutoring program at the local juvenile detention center, an initiative that later turned into a full-fledged group mentoring program that serves the entire center. As a self-designed Asian-American Studies major, he was involved with the Asian American Students Initiative and wrote his senior honors thesis on Arthur Matsu, the first Asian-American to graduate from the university.
During his senior year, Benny was the youngest person ever to be elected to Williamsburg City Council, becoming the second William & Mary student and the first-ever Asian-American to do so. As a councilman, Benny pushed to increase transparency and inclusion of the city's "invisible" populations. After graduating, Benny went on to pursue his law degree at the William & Mary Law School. Now that his four years as councilman have come to an end and he has completed his law degree, Benny's heart is still here in Williamsburg. An associate attorney at Kaufman & Canoles, P.C., his practice focuses on commercial law, estate planning and real estate. He currently serves as secretary of the Williamsburg Bar Association, president of Literacy for Life and is extensively involved in the Hampton Roads region serving on numerous boards.
