For more than forty years I worked for philanthropies, advocacy groups and think tanks, pressing for social, political, and policy change. I spent most of that time in the US foreign policy community, helping steer America toward constructive global leadership. My main specialties were influencing high-level diplomacy and making the political case change for progressive foreign policy (serving on the foreign policy team for both of President Obama's campaigns).
In the latter phase of my career, I switched to new roles as an evaluation consultant and local elected official. As an evaluator, I shifted focus to the technique of advocacy—advising nonprofits and philanthropies on how to be most effective. Serving four terms on our local city council was an opportunity to see life on the decision-maker's side, after years spent offering recommendations from outside of government.
Even in retirement, I like to keep some connection to the change-making field and the challenges it faces. In 2026 I joined the 501(c)(4) board of Wisconsin Progress, a leadership development organization for local officials and candidates around the state. I also do freelance editing for Foundation Review, the peer-reviewed journal of the field of philanthropy.
What can we learn about making social and political change from talking to people who've made their careers in those fields? The work takes a combination of persistence, shrewdness, and luck. On David's new podcast, The Battles We Pick, accomplished advocates and organizers talk about how these elements played into their efforts over the years. CLICK ON THE LOGO TO FIND EPISODES
What Clients Have Said
"During his term as part-time consulting program officer for the Hewlett Foundation, David effectively commissioned and managed a summative evaluation of the Foundation’s Nuclear Security Initiative. David’s management and leadership on this effort were stellar, contributing to the use of, and learning from, the findings in myriad ways for multiple audiences."
— Amy Arbreton, Evaluation Officer
William & Flora Hewlett Foundation
“We worked with David to evaluate a program to build bipartisan relationships and negotiation skills among senior congressional staff. The project was fast-tracked with a tight deadline. David's high-level knowledge of the policy arena, excellent data collection and writing skills, and conscientiousness and professionalism ensured the evaluation came in on time and delivered useful insights to the client.”
— Julia Coffman, Director
Center for Evaluation Innovation
“I have engaged David as a consultant to our policy program administration team at the Aspen Institute as part of our program review process. David worked with directors of three disparate Institute programs to understand their learning questions and develop thoughtful, sometimes individualized interview protocols. He interviewed Members of Congress, prominent legal scholars, fellow evaluators, and foundation program officers. His summary reports contributed to the internal review process and helped strengthen the programs' strategies and tactics. He is thorough, conscientious, and an easygoing partner in what can be challenging and potentially tense review processes.”
— David Devlin-Foltz, VP, Impact Assessment
Aspen Institute
"I first learned about David Shorr’s evaluation practice through the Democracy Fund. At the time, the Andrew Goodman Foundation was looking to conduct an external review of its monitoring and evaluation tools for its national student voting program. David was a great fit given his practical understanding of organizing and advocacy, appreciation of smaller NGOs, and his commitment to mainstreaming a focus on learning into monitoring and evaluation systems. He skillfully identified priorities within the project’s expansive scope, provided keen guidance on stakeholder engagement, and ensured the project stayed on track. His thoughtful interviews and analysis illuminated design improvements, which were adopted. Beyond this, his engagements surfaced strategic insights related to program enhancement, growth, and sustainability. He was a pleasure to work with."
— Karena Cronin, Program Director,
Andrew Goodman Foundation