David’s commitment to marshaling conversation to overcome the divides between people that inhibit collaboration was shaped by his 1970s upbringing in Detroit, Michigan. As a politically aware child, he watched adults in deep racial conflict around issues such as school busing, political influence in the city, and racial segregation.
David received a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Princeton University and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of California, Berkeley. He also completed his doctoral studies at UC Berkeley’s urban planning department, where his dissertation focused on how social service administrators can modify their organizations to make them more responsive to African-American populations’ cultural realities.
After completing his dissertation in 1997, David served as the Senior Policy Analyst to William Clinton’s Presidential Initiative on Race.
Besides having scores of clients leverage his expertise in dialogue and inclusion, David has worked as a college lecturer and as Deputy Director of a large non-profit focused on conflict resolution. In early 2016, David created an initiative called the White Ally Toolkit, which has encouraged, empowered, and equipped thousands of people and helped them become more effective advocates against racism. In 2018, he founded The Dialogue Company, which leverages his and his team’s expertise in meeting facilitation, education design, and project management in the service of helping communities and organizations create dialogue experiences that change the world.
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