What Our Clients Say
“I had the pleasure of partaking in a two-day session that was facilitated by David at the 2019 NeighborWorks America NTI training hosted in New Orleans. David possesses an incredible gift for bringing people together. David is enthusiastic, creative, humorous, compassionate and extremely knowledgeable in the realm of oral storytelling and public speaking. David has the desire to equip the individuals that he is teaching, to not only utilize the tools that he is providing to better themselves but to better the communities that they reside and work in. We need more people like David in this day and age”.
Bobby Bozidar Jovanovic - Community Building & Engagement Coordinator, Mid Central Community Action
“I think the biggest plus of the class was understanding the breadth of what storytelling encompasses. It does not need to be long or heart wrenching; it’s about creating forums where people can be heard. The alternative is that others will try and tell your story for you…and it’s rarely accurate.Thanks for what you do. I learned a lot”
Michael Ohler, Ed.D. Guest and Resident Services Coordinator - Champlain Housing Trust
“David, thank you so very much! I appreciated so much your professionalism and expertise. The group truly connected with you and the rave reviews of how much they got out of the sessions does not come by surprise. It is exciting to see the teams confidence, understanding, and curiosity towards community organizing continue to evolve. I cannot wait to bring you back and continue to work with these teams to continue to hone in on their skills, particularly their storytelling skills. It was an absolute pleasure getting to know you and looking forward to more…”
Rosimar Melendez, Program Director, Horizon Foundation
“David has a tremendous gift for seeing and mobilizing possibilities among people. Whether it’s a specific campaign, an organization, a town, or a classroom, he is able to quickly assess needs and strengths through listening. He is a flexible and dynamic speaker who inspires others to action and leadership. My students at Allegheny College continue to talk about the time they spent with him, and some are even pursuing a life of community organizing after learning with him about the power of collective action. I plan to be working with David for years and years to come on many fronts here in Meadville, PA!”
Julie Wilson, Assistant Professor, Allegheny College
“David facilitated a storytelling workshop for our coalition members and partners. His knowledge, passion, and skillful group facilitation led to an inspiring and worthwhile day of professional development for all. Participants left feeling energized and ready to bring light to the programs that make such a difference in our community. I would recommend David’s training to any group looking for a positive way to bond and learn useful skills while having fun in the process.”
Kathryn Staats, Prevention Services Coordinator, Community Advocates Public Policy Institute
“I have used David Hunt as a trainer and consultant consistently over the last 7 years. David has trained hundreds of leaders for me and helped to design curriculum and highly experiential and engaging sessions on storytelling, organizing, coalition building, and strategy. David is one of the most dynamic and engaging trainers I have ever seen and he consistently receives rave reviews from staff and participants. David is also an absolute pleasure to work with and he brings tremendous wisdom, experience and empathy. I could not recommend him more highly as a trainer, visionary thinker and community builder.”
Mandara Meyers, Vice President, Leadership Development and Design, Leadership for Educational Equity
“I have worked with David since 2010. He was the keynote speaker at the 2010 National Aged Care Conference in Australia. He had a huge impact on the Conference – inspiring delegates to stand up for the changes that are needed in aged and community care. He also presented a workshop on story-telling that people still talk about.
In 2013 the Tasmanian aged care body brought David back to Australia to headline our first State Conference for 10 years. He participated in a program of momentum building activities around the Conference and was a huge hit as the headline speaker. David is great to work with – he adds value to events by getting involved in the planning and making suggestions that help you to achieve your aims.
I have no hesitation in recommending him to any organization – you won’t regret engaging him because he will engage you, your staff and your customers.”
Rod Hunt, Hunt & Fitzgerald
“The Women’s Community Revitalization Project (WCRP), a community based development organization committed to social and economic equity for low-income women and their families in Philadelphia, has been working with David Hunt since 1998. He has been very involved with our board and staff in creating campaigns that have developed a new level of power and leadership for our organization. His strong technical skills and expertise as a trainer enabled WCRP to move into a city-wide arena, to take on new roles, and to build the organization’s power to demand respect from our elected representatives. His work with us has always involved using the tool of storytelling to create safe space and to help all of us find our voice and tell our own stories. Through our work together WCRP has gained a more sophisticated understanding of organizing. His assistance has been directly responsible for enabling our organization to create strong intentional coalitions and to win new resources for the creation and preservation of housing that is truly affordable for the lowest income families in Philadelphia. We wholeheartedly recommend his services to others.”
Nora Lichtash, Executive Director, WCRP
“We invited Mr. Hunt to Hallandale Beach, invited residents, business owners and religious leaders to a time of sharing. Bottom line, we left that meeting with a plan that would unite us all towards one goal. For the next two years, our community worked with the City to build the first new facility in our community in over thirty years. This project brought new life and vitality to our community, it gave the residents a new confidence in the City, and hope that our community will be better. Mr. Hunt helped us to understand that we may all have the same goal, but we can have different paths to get to that goal, as long as everyone is “grown” enough to express their agenda upfront. We love working with Mr Hunt, he has a way of getting to the root of the problem and is not afraid to confront the issues in a respectful way. We recommend David Hunt to work with any community.”
Higher Vision Ministries and Eagle’s Wings Development Center
“Your presence and participation greatly enhanced the success of our week-long workshop…We are fortunate to have had someone of your professional expertise serve as a valuable resource for the health fellowship cohort. It has been a pleasure working with you. We look forward to continued partnership in future endeavors.”
Jacqueline Johnson Pata, Executive Director, National Congress of American Indians
“I had the absolute pleasure of spending two days learning and growing under the esteemed guidance of Mr. David Hunt during an organizing workshop in Columbia, Maryland. A powerful and incredibly gifted facilitator, David was open, honest, and tremendously engaging. Everything he shared had deep meaning and was in service of better understanding issues related to racial equity and community organizing. I was in awe of the wisdom and pointed analysis David shared, inspiring each of us towards action. Every detail of the space was well thought out and constructed with tender care, from the large and small group activities to the visuals, media, and PowerPoint presentations. I was struck by David’s capacity to really hear what we were saying and then effortlessly reflect back, with examples, our hearts’ words. There were moments I would pause to scan the room and noticed people mesmerized, taking in the beauty and power of David’s spoken truth. One participant shared that in one sentence, David would simply change our worlds. I wholeheartedly recommend David for any facilitation, and welcome the day we get to work together again!”
Saman Akhtar, Assistant Director, HopeWorks (formerly Domestic Violence Center)
“David Hunt has a very skillful technique and style of presenting. It was very comfortable for me to engage in the training entitled Michigan Power and Advocacy Training on April 13-14, 2019 at the Marriott Eagle Crest Hotel and Conference Center. His knowledge and technique were astounding. To give an example we had a participant at our table that used the I word often regarding what she does and is doing. Personally, I was not interested in hearing about her personal actions and activity. I was so impressed with David for skillfully using this as a teaching opportunity to all attendees regarding the strength in numbers as a We. A brought forth a very different perception in such a healthy non-threatening way that blew my mind. I wanted to package him and his skill in a bottle that I could carry with me at all times when dealing with a large group of adults who come with their own agendas other than learning. David exhibits high quality in teaching. He used so many different techniques of auditory, visual, tactile, and adjusting the atmosphere to meet the learning objectives. Very impressive work.”
Audrey A Anderson, Mayor Pro tem, City Council member, Ypsilanti Michigan.
“It was one of the most energetic and fun classes I’ve taken and thank you so much for a good learning. I also greatly appreciate your follow up email and encouragements. I hope to have an opportunity to have you talk to my real estate professional network group in near future.”
Song Hutchins, Founder/President/CEO, HUD Certified Housing Counselor, HECM Counselor
“Dear David, Thank you for facilitating the Conversation. My perception and experience of the session was that you, May, and David absolutely did create a safe and sacred space for us to share and learn and unlearn and process and heal and imagine. I saw a room full of people come to an understanding of history that is actively suppressed. It seemed that scales fell from our eyes and there was a digestion of the way history shapes daily experience. The experience moved me in a way I’m not sure I can express. I will use what I learned in my work and my Work. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Sarah Stout, Neighbor Works Umpqua, Roseburg, Oregon
“Hi David, I had the pleasure of attending your class last week in Cleveland. It was amazing and opened my eyes to how we can do a better job in our community with storytelling. Thank you for the valuable insight and resources you have provided to me as a community organizer. Thanks again for the fantastic opportunity! I appreciate your passion and commitment to the power of stories!”
Abbie Brewer, Housing Resources of Western Colorado
I was SO impressed by your talk over the importance of storytelling and building strong communities. The conversations I had at the breakout session formed relationships I still hold today with farmers in Kansas. Thanks so much for inspiring me! Know that I was able to develop my own style of storytelling that had been very beneficial to the cause of Regenerating Communities. Communication is key!
Jessica Gnad Pratt, Kansas
David Hunt’s class was highly impactful. The practice of storytelling was truly transformational both with my personal story and the story of our nation. He was highly encouraging and inspirational in his teaching style, offering different styles of learning to engage everyone in the classroom. I really hope to take more of his classes in the future!
Britney King, Family Economic Opportunity Program Assistant, Sherwood, Oregon
We invited David to facilitate a breakout session at the conference for local nonprofit organizations that we host each year. We also asked him to attend and observe the conference throughout the day and then provide a few closing thoughts and reflections at its conclusion. Most certainly, David’s breakout and concluding remarks were very well-received—which is no surprise given his knowledge, expertise and passion. What was particularly rewarding about our engagement with David, was the time he took with us ahead of the conference to understand its intent and flow. These discussions not only ensured that his contribution furthered our goals for the conference, they helped us focus our own thinking about the day and what we hoped to provide to our community of nonprofit organizations. All this—plus he was a helluva lot of fun to work with!
Ed Cortas, Director of Consulting Services, Center for Nonprofit Excellence, Louisville, Kentucky
David’s workshops have become an integral part of the core curriculum at the Honors Living-Learning Community (HLLC) at Rutgers University-Newark. Each fall, David visits with our newest cohort of students, who work toward minors in social justice in addition to their major areas of concentration. His deep-dives into the power of storytelling as a fundamental organizing and community-building tool give students both a crucial tool in their expanding social-change toolboxes and a framework for understanding how they might critically approach the discursive politics of our times, whatever form it takes, as social media, campaign rhetoric, popular culture, or professional and scientific literature. With real-world focus – on, for example, recent battles over American monuments and the Movement for Black Lives – he demonstrates how storytelling helps produce not only new narratives and ideas, but also material social change in particular times and places. This approach has helped educate and activate successive cohorts of engaged citizens at HLLC, who bring a critical, multidimensional intelligence to their much-needed work for positive social change.
Mark Krasovic - Associate Professor of History and American Studies, Rutgers University-Newark
David led a great session to introduce our youth to the fundamentals of community organizing. He was intentional about keeping the youth involved throughout with interactive content and scenarios the youth could relate to. The framing around power was especially helpful for youth to consider how power operates in more complex ways than “good” or “evil” and how they can use their own power, particularly when working with their peers and community. This session provided a great foundation for us to continue supporting our youth organizers!
