David Holmstrom

David Holmstrom, Finance/Tax Professional

"David Holmstrom grew up on welfare in the South Bronx. He was active in the late 1950s civil rights and “ban the bomb” movements during high school, and later in the student anti-war movement. His other political work has centered on independent progressive electoral activity, coalition building, and mass mobilizations, including the 1963 March on Washington, the 1976 counter-bicentennial, the 1980 People's Convention in NYC, the Rainbow Coalition, and several progressive electoral campaigns in Boston. David earned a Masters from the London School of Economics and a PhD in Government from Harvard. Instead of staying in academics, he joined the staff of the Haymarket Peoples Fund for three years in the 1970s at the time the Funding Exchange was being organized. He has supported a lifetime non-career of political activism by stints working as teacher, typesetter, computer trainer, and CEO of Advocate Development. David spent six years in Chile in the 1990s. Since returning from Chile, David has taken up tax-preparation as a semi-retirement profession. He has served as Treasurer of Mass Citizens Against the Death Penalty and of a scholarship fund which now supports the Work Environment and Solar Energy programs at UMass Lowell. David and his wife Bonnie Shepard have two children adopted from Central America, and two grandchildren."

• Director, Grassroots International