Dave Rosenfeld
Student PIRGs New Voters Project Director

Dave has been a one of the nation’s premier youth and social change entrepreneurs for over 15 years. During his time with the Student PIRGs, he has helped infuse new blood, new money and new ideas into American student activism, becoming a driving force behind some of the biggest and best student organizing in the nation. 

He was the designer and senior project advisor of Power Shift, the largest student global warming conference ever.  Using Dave’s outreach strategy, conference organizers used the Internet and a network of thousands of college faculty and campus activists to turn out 6,000 students from all 50 states to Washington, DC.

He launched the infamous Make Textbooks Affordable campaign, which is credited for exposing college textbook publishing scam and catalyzing the emerging movement towards lower cost textbooks.  Over five states have adopted new policies written by Dave that require textbook publishers to behave more ethically.  Now, Congress is considering following suit.  His work has been featured and cited in over 500 news stories, including: the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, US News and World Report and the Los Angeles Times. 

He helped found and design the Campus Climate Challenge, which is the largest ongoing student campaign to engage college students in solutions to global warming.  Currently, he is working with Student PIRG organizations to mobilize 4,000 students in support of strong climate legislation in 14 states, using the strategies and tactics he used to help pass California’s groundbreaking renewable energy law in 2002. 

He coordinates the Student PIRG New Voters Project’s efforts in 20 states.  Dave has played various leadership roles with the project since 1992, when he and his college friends registered 6,000 Rutgers students to vote.  In 2002, he led a record-breaking statewide voter registration drive in California, and helped design the campus organizing model that ultimately registered over 500,000 18-29 year olds to vote in 2004.   

Prior to his current position, he ran the largest student activist network in California – CALPIRG – with over 30,000 active student members and $400,000 in annual income.  Under Dave’s leadership CALPIRG student leaders and volunteers registered tens of thousands of students to vote, passed groundbreaking statewide legislation to expand California’s investment in clean, renewable energy, and helped solidify rock-solid opposition to offshore oil drilling.

In addition to injecting new ideas into student activism, Dave has prioritized strengthening and expanding America’s activist infrastructure so that it can support itself with less reliance on wealthy donors.  As the state director of MoPIRG in 1997 and 1998, Dave doubled the organization’s membership and annual income.  Dave laid the groundwork for CALPIRG’s expansion to UC Riverside, the University of Southern California, and the Los Angeles Community College District, almost doubling the income, membership and volunteer base of the organization.  He directed successful community fundraising campaigns for groups such as the Sierra Club, expanding their local membership base in communities across the country.  And he has built a network of donors and foundations willing to invest in youth organizing, bringing in millions of dollars to fund long-term youth organizing efforts. 

Dave began his social change career in 1991 at Rutgers University with the New Jersey PIRG, first as a board member, then as the Chair of the Board. 

Dave is a proud native of New Jersey equally proud product of New Jersey’s public schools, including Rutgers University, where he graduated in 1995.  He currently lives in Portland, OR with his wife, Merriah, also a professional grassroots organizer and takes great delight in showcasing his New Jersey accent to West Coasters.  In his spare time, he trains for marathons, plays guitar in a Pixies cover band, cooks fine Jewish cuisine, and watches re-runs of Entourage.