David Beckmann served as president of Bread for the World from 1991 to 2020, where he led people and churches nationwide in successful advocacy efforts with Congress. He was awarded the World Food Prize in 2010 for his contribution to the world’s progress against hunger. He sees progress against poverty in recent decades as an experience of our loving God and cause for hope. Beckmann works with advocacy organizations and Congress on this year’s Build Back Better legislation. He is coordinator of the Circle of Protection, a coalition of church bodies and organizations that includes 100 million people. He was a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, in spring 2021 and is a visiting professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Beckmann is a Lutheran pastor and an economist. He holds degrees from Yale University, Chicago Theological Seminary, and the London School of Economics and Political Science, and he has been awarded eight honorary doctorates.