David Evangelista

David Evangelista is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Special Olympics, overseeing the global operations of the movement with over 5,000,000 competing athletes in 190 nations. As part of this role, David also directs an international team of more than 300 central and regional staff.  

Evangelista has served in a range of positions within the Special Olympics movement reflecting a longstanding commitment to the global population of people with intellectual disabilities, most recently as President and Managing Director of Special Olympics Europe Eurasia, and Senior Advisor on International Development for Special Olympics International.

With extensive experience in international development, government relations, and global partnership-building, Evangelista serves as a member of the UNESCO Global Safe Sport Task Force, the Advisory Council of the Centre for Sports and Human Rights, and the UNICEF Taskforce for Assistive Technologies for Children with Disabilities. He is also a former member of the High-Level Group on Sports Diplomacy for the European Commission and the Multilateral Diplomacy Advisory Group of UNITAR.

Additionally, Evangelista has been appointed on the Board of Directors of The Access Challenge and is a Progressive Melvin Jones Fellow of the Lions Clubs International Foundation. A longtime advocate, he is the Founding President of the Washington, D.C. Special Olympics Lions Club and a Board Member of the Centennial Champions 100 Lions Club in the United Kingdom. David also serves as an Associate Professor of International Relations at the Universidad Intercontinental de la Empresa in Vigo, Spain and has served as a guest lecturer at a range of American and European Universities, including Harvard University, Georgetown University, the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, the University of New York – Prague, and more. David's passion for Special Olympics is deeply personal. He grew up in Rhode Island, USA, where his father, Steve Evangelista, founded Special Olympics Rhode Island in the early 1970s. From volunteering at the Special Olympics World Games 1995 in New Haven, USA, to holding senior leadership roles within the movement, he has dedicated his life to advancing the rights and opportunities of people with intellectual disabilities around the world.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and International Development from American University School of International Service, a Master’s Degree in International Business from IESIDE, and an Executive MBA from the Universidad Intercontinental de la Empresa (UIE) in Vigo, Spain.