Who is Dave Colling

In the Fall of 1990, a coworker of mine asked me to volunteer with him at the campaign office of Congressman John Dingell and it changed my life forever. At the time I wasn’t at all involved in, nor did I care about, politics, I was majoring in elementary education and I had no idea how much my worldview, and how I saw myself in it, was about to be forever altered. It was there that I met people that were very involved in their community and not just in a political sense. I wanted to be involved too, and the route I chose was to make a difference through the political process. It was at that time I began to reflect on my life and the options I had growing up and how different things could have been for me, had it not been for the people and community that surrounded me in Detroit, MI. I was suddenly seeing for the first time where my life had taken me was not just a random series of events, but a strong effort on the part of many people and institutions that laid a path for me to follow. I’ve now seen what kind of impact can be made in the lives of others when communities come together.  Growing up in one of the poorest and underserved areas of the country, the southwest side of Detroit, MI, I was raised by my mother and grandmother, both of whom had strong beliefs in giving back to the community. From this early foundation, I internalized their words and actions by engaging in political and government career opportunities so that I could be a part of positive change. Since then, my life has been filled with opportunities to work with everyone from Presidents to those living on the fringes of our society, and I learned something from them all.

 

From the time I graduated college most of my adult life was spent working in government and managing political campaigns, including Congressman Keith Ellison’s first successful run for Congress in 2006.  But a few years ago I decided to take my love of community, my desire to create positive change and pivot my life path from politics to nonprofits. I spent the next year consulting with several nonprofits, using my experience and expertise from decades of political and marketing work to help my clients, including the Muslim American Society of MN and ASSEST Campaign.  In January of this year I began working as the Executive Director for Nonprofit Organization in North Minneapolis, the Harrison Neighborhood Association.

 

I’ve spent my adult life working and volunteering to make my community better. Managing mufti-million dollar political campaigns, to working with nonprofits in and around the Twin-Cities to create the change I have always desired. Since arriving in Minneapolis in 1998, I’ve worked closely with different communities to try to make a better city, state, and country for everyone. This is why I got involved in politics and it's why I have continued down that path of work in the nonprofit world, and it is now brought me to my run for City Council in St. Anthony MN.

 

For the past 14 years I have lived in and around St. Anthony, buying my current home on 27th Ave NE one and half years ago. My son, George is going into second grade at Wilshire Park Elementary and my wife Sarah Steil is a small business owner.