Alumnus Spotlight: David Halbert

David Halbert, MPA ’16, Policy School Advisory Committee Member

What in your background motivated you to pursue a career in public service?

My parents were both career federal employees. My dad worked for the Veterans Administration and U.S. bankruptcy court, and my mom spent over 20 years with the EPA. Our family also has a very strong historical connection to civic life through the church. They say it’s impolite to discuss religion and politics but that’s basically all we ever talked about. So, for me, public service is practically in my DNA.

What inspired you your lifelong commitment to civic activism?

My family legacy made me keenly aware of issues of equity and justice from a young age. I spent my early childhood in Cincinnati, OH, a place that is geographically midwestern, but culturally southern. My maternal grandparents had integrated their neighborhood at a time when the city was still legally segregated. My mother used to tell the story of how the musician Harry Belafonte, at the peak of his international stardom, came to perform in the city—but couldn’t find a downtown hotel willing to accommodate him.

My maternal grandfather came from coal country in Appalachia. He took the highest-paying—and most dangerous—job in the mines, planting dynamite, so he could afford to leave and start a new life. He died before I was born so I often find myself leaning on my mother’s stories about his tenacity, resilience, and sacrifice as motivation to honor everything he gave for us by working to make the world a better place for people fighting for a better life today – just like he did.

How did you end up on the East Coast?

After my parents divorced, my mother moved my sisters and me west of Boston to Framingham. She had graduated from Wellesley and had spent some time there as a student. During my junior year in high school, I took a class on political theory and international relations. It gave me my first exposure to formal political theory and really opened my eyes to politics and policymaking.

What did you study as an undergraduate?

When it came time for me to choose a college, I had three criteria: I wanted a school in a rural setting (I am an Eagle Scout and have always loved the outdoors); I wanted to play rugby; and I wanted to study public relations. I ended up majoring in English and Communications at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), in the Berkshires. My plan at the time was to work for the Red Cross after I graduated. While I have been a blood and platelet donor for over 25 years, my professional life went in a different direction.

How did your undergraduate experience shape your career path?

At MCLA, I was very involved in student government and campus life. I served in the student senate and also successfully ran to become the student member of the school’s Board of Trustees. As a senior, I served as the student member of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, where I represented every public higher education student in the Commonwealth. This gave me my first direct connection to public policy making and was also the springboard for a post-graduate internship working for Dan Bosley, a MCLA alum who was a state representative. In that role, I quickly learned about the inner workings of the State House, which helped me land my first job in the State Treasurer’s office.

What other roles did you take on prior to entering the MPA program at the Policy School?

I gained a broad range of experiences that equipped me with different skill sets. I did some work in the nonprofit sector with Project Bread and in the private sector with a startup company working to develop alternative revenue streams for the MBTA. I also served as a community-based volunteer for Deval Patrick’s first gubernatorial campaign in 2006. That led me to job in the scheduling office in the Patrick administration. Helping to coordinate the governor’s day-to-day activities provided a front row seat into how state government operates and a peek behind the curtain for the stories and people behind what you might read about in tomorrow’s news.

What motivated you to leave Beacon Hill?

I was thinking about running for municipal office and knew that I needed a better understanding of city government in order to be a credible candidate. I went to work at City Hall for Boston City Councilor Sam Yoon, ultimately deciding to seek change by supporting his run for Mayor in 2009 rather than throwing my hat in the ring. I eventually did run for an at-large seat on the Boston City Council in 2019 and 2021, where I finished fifth, just outside of the top four finish to join the Council. Although I didn’t win, I was incredibly proud of the issues-oriented campaign we ran, and the knowledge I gained at the Policy School which was critical to developing my platform.

What led you to the MPA program at the Policy School?

When I began the program, I was working in an administrative role at the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office and knew that I needed to earn a graduate degree that would enable me to expand my options and ability to make change through public service. With a mortgage and bills to pay, I also needed a high-quality program designed for working professionals. I learned, in my very first semester, that my wife and I were expecting our first child so that added another layer of motivation to my studies. I was so grateful for how accommodating my professors were, particularly Jenn Lammers. Their support enabled me to navigate working full time, going to school full time, and being a first-time dad. Looking up from the floor at Matthews Arena at graduation and seeing my mother, wife, and daughter is a memory I will never forget – and really cemented that I made the right choice in selecting Northeastern.

What were your key takeaways from the MPA program?

I learned so much and not just in terms of the public management and policy analysis skills that I still bring to bear on my work and my civic engagement to this day. It was invaluable to be in conversation with students from so many different cultures and backgrounds. My degree opened new professional opportunities for me and made me confident in my runs for public office. When the Boston Globe cited my thoughtfulness in problem-solving as a key reason for their endorsement of my candidacy in both campaigns, that was in large part because of the ability to strategically assess systems I honed in places like Prof. Bosso’s classes at the Policy School.

How are you applying the ideals you cultivated at the Policy School in your present role?

I am currently the Executive Director of Bay State Progress (BSP), a community of progressive social justice funders in Massachusetts. BSP works to bring funding and strategic resources to make Massachusetts the leading progressive model in the country, by uplifting and empowering historically underrepresented and marginalized communities. While we are a very blue state, blue and progressive are not necessarily the same thing. Our priorities revolve around greater transparency and accountability within the state legislature and racial justice and racial equity.

What advice would you offer current Policy School students?

Take off the blinders and make connections at every level – during your program and after you graduate–not just with your faculty members, who are subject matter experts, but also with your classmates. It is really easy to be so focused on your individual journey and goals that you miss the chance to get to know some amazing people all around you. You just never know where people are going to end up, what they’re going to do, or what you can learn from them. Most importantly, make the connection between what you’re learning and what you want to do in the future so that you help define your own unique pathway from the start.