David Evangelista

David Evangelista is the incoming Chief Executive Officer of Special Olympics.

Evangelista has served in a range of positions within the Special Olympics movement, currently as President & Managing Director of Special Olympics Europe Eurasia where he oversees program operations in 58 countries across Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. As part of this role, he provides strategic direction, engages public and private sector leaders, and leads regional fundraising efforts. Concurrently, David serves as Senior Advisor for International Development for Special Olympics International, where he has architected multiple global partnerships with UN bodies, foreign aid agencies and multilateral organizations designed to advance Special Olympics programming across the Global South in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) and the full implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN-CRPD).  
 
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, the UNICEF Taskforce for Assistive Technologies for Children with Disabilities, and a former member of the High-Level Group on Sports Diplomacy for the European Commission and the Multilateral Diplomacy Advisory Group of UNITAR. He also serves 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 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’s 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.  He currently lives in Vigo with his wife and their two sons.