David Calvert
Class Year: 1975
Current City/State: New York, NY
Major: History / Communications
Email Address: dgcalvert@gmail.com
Why I Wanted to Serve on the Alumni Council:
Grinnell has been very good to me, even after graduation, advancing my career in crucial ways. Grinnell professors wrote reference letters that helped me gain access to jobs and graduate school. Waves of Grinnell student volunteers between 2012-2020 contributed beautifully to my YouthBuild work in East Harlem. My 2007 project to launch YouthBuild in four Central American countries was keyed by a Grinnell Wall Service Award. Giving back to Grinnell makes it a two-way street, and feels right. Alumni represent a key, often undermined component of Grinnell, and I hope to help build up and expand that relationship in useful, productive ways.
A Quote I Like:
"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
―Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
A Little Bit About Me:
I retired this year, after 45 years in the community-based nonprofit world, which turned include living and working in nine countries and four languages. The YouthBuild program that I helped create right out of Grinnell, in the late seventies, provided a long-term thread of professional engagement till now. I expect that retirement will allow me to be more deeply engaged with the Alumni Council and supporting Grinnell.
Other passions: bicycling, playing and following sports, my local church in East Harlem, singing, advocating for affordable housing and for social justice, and especially, my family, including my seven amazing grandchildren.
Other Alumni Involvement: Co-Class Fund Director, GRASP Volunteer, Interns and Externs host, Reunion Planning