About Rev. David Beckmann

David Beckmann is one of the foremost U.S. advocates for people struggling with hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world.

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David divides his time between advocacy on public policy and teaching effective strategies to connect faith to the politics of poverty.

 

He is Coordinator of the Circle of Protection, an anti-poverty advocacy coalition of church bodies and agencies which has helped to protect and strengthen poverty-important programs in the massive bills through which Congress now does most of its work. In response to the threat of Trump-style MAGA Republicanism, he is now also active in supporting Democratic candidates.

 

Based at Virginia Theological Seminary, he is learning - about the spirituality of religiously unaffiliated people, for example - and teaching at the seminary and more widely.  

 

During David’s 28 years as president of Bread for the World (1991-2019), it grew to a network of two million people and 3,000 local churches. He was awarded the World Food Prize for his leadership to increase and improve international aid and its contribution to the dramatic reduction of world hunger and poverty in recent decades. 

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Before he moved to Bread for the World, David was a World Bank economist (1976-1991). He led the World Bank’s initial engagement with NGOs and community organizations around the world.

 

David graduated from Yale College and earned master’s degrees from the Lutheran School of Theology and the London School of Economics. He has been awarded eight honorary doctorates.

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David is married, with two adult sons and four grandchildren.