David Beckmann Announces Plans to Retire as President of Bread for the World

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Bread for the World president Rev. David Beckmann. Bread for the World photo

Washington, D.C. – David Beckmann today announced that he will retire as president of Bread for the World and the Alliance to End Hunger in June 2020.

“I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to lead Bread and the Alliance. The progress our country and the world have made against hunger in recent decades has been an experience of our loving God’s continuing presence in our world,” said Rev. Beckmann. “All the people involved in Bread and the Alliance have helped to make it happen.”

Board chair John Carr recognized David’s long and exceptional service. “Bread for the World has been blessed by David Beckmann’s outstanding leadership for more than two decades. His faithfulness, knowledge, skills and commitment have transformed Bread, lifted up millions of people who are hungry or poor and enriched the Christian and Washington communities in countless ways. We look forward to David’s ongoing leadership as Bread searches for his successor and to his continued engagement in overcoming hunger and poverty.”

“Bread for the World and the Alliance to End Hunger will thrive under fresh leadership,” said Beckmann, “and I’m announcing my retirement early so that the organizations have plenty of time to plan.” Carr reported, “A leadership committee of the board of Bread for the World has carefully prepared for this succession. The board has selected Korn Ferry, a leading executive search firm, to assist us in choosing a new president who can build on Bread’s many strengths and has the vision, experience, and leadership to help Bread achieve its mission of ending hunger.”

Bread for the World is a Christian advocacy movement to end hunger. Its network includes 2.5 million people, 5,000 local churches, 500 leader activists, and partnerships with many church bodies. The Alliance to End Hunger engages a wide array of organizations in building the political will to end hunger–nonprofits, corporations, universities, and diverse faith bodies.

Bread for the World has a remarkable record of legislative achievement. During the budget controversies of 2011-2017, Bread for the World and the faith community played significant roles in protecting domestic and international poverty programs from funding cuts. In 2018, Bread and the Alliance helped pass the Global Food Security Act, a Farm Bill without cuts to food assistance, and assisted others in helping pass criminal justice reform. Beckmann was awarded the World Food Prize in 2010 in recognition that “the policies he has fought for have brought hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.”

 

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