David Hoffman is the founding director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Life at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). The Center creates learning forums in which participants develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to build communities in which everyone can thrive. Its work is premised on the idea that civic life encompasses everyday settings and relationships through which people can generate the power to shape their world. The Center, established in 2018, builds on David’s 15 previous years at UMBC helping members of the campus community see new possibilities for themselves and the world.

Beyond leading the Center for Democracy and Civic Life, David develops and teaches courses about civic communication and culture as a faculty fellow in UMBC’s Honors College. He serves as a member (and past chair) of the Steering Committee for AASCU’s American Democracy Project, and previously served as a member of Imagining America’s National Advisory Board. David’s research and publications have explored students’ growth as civic agents in the context of experiences, environments, and relationships they perceive as “real” rather than synthetic or scripted. He has been honored as Outstanding Staff Member by UMBC’s Alumni Association (2024) and Faculty Fellow of the Year by UMBC’s Honors College (2024), and received a University System of Maryland Board of Regents Award for exceptional contributions (2013).

Prior to joining UMBC in 2003, David spent eight years as a community organizer, playing leadership roles in two nonprofit organizations that helped residents of cities across the U.S. build coalitions to address a variety of social challenges. He is an alum of UCLA, where he served as student body president and University of California student regent. David earned J.D. and M.P.P. degrees at Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in Language, Literacy, and Culture at UMBC.