About David D. Burstein
Photo by: Julie O’Connor
David is the CEO & Co-Founder of Run for America, a disruptive post-partisan initiative to restore imagination to American governance by bringing a new generation of talent into American politics and breaking political polarization. He is the author of Fast Future: How the Millennial Generation is Shaping Our World, the first broad book about the Millennial Generation, written by a Millennial. The book takes readers inside the largest generation in history to tell how and why they are changing business, technology, culture, and politics. Previously he was the founder andExecutive Director or Generation18, a nonpartisan young voter engagement organization. The organization grew out of the documentary film, 18 in ’08, which David directed and produced about young voters in the 2008 election. From 2007-2008, Generation18 registered over 25,000 new voters, held over 1,000 events in 35 states, and produced a get-out-the-vote PSA series with stars including Olivia Wilde and Maggie Gyllenhaal. For his work, David received a 2009 DoSomething Award and his story was featured on several million bags of Doritos. His 2012 follow up film, Up to Us, produced with OurTime.org and Comcast, focused on the optimism and resilience of the Millennial Generation in the face of the economic crisis and their continued desire to vote and participate in public service. Up to Us was screened across the country in the lead up to the 2012 election. David is a frequent speaker and commentator on Millennials, social innovation and politics. He has appeared on CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, NPR, ABC Evening News, and C-SPAN, and in The New York Times, USA Today, Politico, Salon, The Huffington Post, and many others. David is a contributor to Fast Company, where he writes about disruptive innovation, social entrepreneurship and creativity. He has been a consultant to numerous organizations and companies on how to understand and engage Millennials. David is the Founding Co-Director of the Bluhm/Helfand Social Innovation Fellowship @ Chicago Ideas Week, which helps outstanding young social entrepreneurs grow their impact. He is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, Disruptor Foundation Fellow, and serves on the advisory boards of Watson University, The Civic Life Project, CanLeads, and The Westport Youth Film Festival. He is a proud graduate of NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study.
