David Beckmann

Background

About 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. He divides his time between advocacy on public policy and teaching effective strategies to connect faith to the politics of poverty. David is Coordinator of the Circle of Protection, an anti-poverty advocacy coalition of church bodies and ministries 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. As Dean's Advisor for Political and Economic Justice 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 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. 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 is married, with two adult sons and four grandchildren.