The National Democratic Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government.

David Hamilton is the resident country director for NDI's Bosnia and Herzegovina programs. He assists selected reform parties in both entities of Bosnia-Herzegovina in developing policy platforms that respond to citizen concerns and reform priorities. In this program, Mr. Hamilton has overseen and analyzed the implementation of nation-wide polling and consults the leadership of NDI's partner parties in integrating the results of NDI's public opinion research into party policies and discussing these policies with civil society representatives in discussion forums and town hall meetings. During the 2010 general elections, Mr. Hamilton produced three political debates on nationwide television. Mr. Hamilton manages NDI's offices in Sarajevo and Banja Luka.

Prior to his time in Bosnia, Mr. Hamilton was based in Ukraine and worked on the Institute's programs in Belarus. During that time, he worked with the Institute's international and Belarusian partners — including senior government and political party officials, media, foreign embassies, international organizations, aid agencies and research institutions — to support Belarusian political and civil society initiatives.

He has also managed multiple nationwide election observation missions including strategic planning, materials development, media, logistics, and recruitment and deployment of thousands of observers. In addition, he trained political parties and civic organizations on materials and message development, outreach activities, communications and fundraising, among other topics. His service at NDI has included work with political party and civic leaders throughout former Soviet bloc countries including Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine.

Before joining the Institute, Mr. Hamilton worked for Seattle-based Pyramid Communications, a private sector communications firm dedicated to socially responsible causes. Clients included the World Health Organization, the American Legacy Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Grameen Technology Center, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Environmental Trust and the city of Seattle. Earlier, he worked for a diverse group of non-profit and government organizations including the Washington state legislature, the U.S. Forest Service, King County Elections and Washington Conservation Voters. He has also worked as staff and as a consultant on many political campaigns for U.S. Congress, state legislatures, city/county councils and initiatives.

Mr. Hamilton earned a master’s degree from the University of Washington and a bachelor’s degree from Carleton College.