Named Chief Advancement Officer for the Forsyth Institute in Cambridge, the leading independent oral health research institution that started out providing free dental care for Boston children. David will remain in the area and continue to work with community organizations.
Bay Windows asked David to reflect on his arrival to Boston and his time as an openly gay public figure
“I have always been an out, gay man both in my personal life and my professional life on television. I started my career in a small market in Indiana, moved to the west coast, did a stint in Milwaukee and settled down in Boston. I have always felt welcomed everywhere I’ve been, but it is Boston, and the wonderful lgbt community, that I call home.
People warned me I would find more than just the weather in Boston chilly...but they were wrong. I have found Boston, and our LGBT community, nurturing, accepting, loving, challenging, smart, and above all honest. I moved here in 1995—a 32 year-old gay man new to the big city. I immediately found that big city Boston has a small town feel. I got settled, bought a home, and worked. Slowly I started to make my way into “the community”. I made the rounds... to Club Café...Fritz. I even found my way to the Eagle and Machine. In 1996 I visted Provincetown for the first time and (like thousands of other first-timers) returned in August for a vacation.f I found this community to be fun, smart, provincial, curious, respectful, real, and friendly. Boston friendly? Absolutely. Soon my connection to the community deepened as I served as MC for local organizations.
My invitation to MC a fundraiser came from the old Jesuit Urban Center, a catholic organization with a large LGBT membership.. It was a blast. From there it has been a whirlwind of events and auctions. I have worked closely with AIDS Action. I rode the Boston to the Harbor Michael Tye Ride for AIDS, I have MCed and served as an auctioneer for BAGLY a number of times (which earned me hate mail from a Christian organization). I have worked with the Boston Living Center, sold pies and ran the Boston Marathon for Community Servings. I MCed the Mens Event for Fenway Health..and even served as their Chair in 2009. It was that year and that event where I met my future husband, Ben Perkins|
Boston and my LGBT community supported and cherished my decision in 2000 to start a family. I am now the so very proud parent of two wonderful children age 10 and 13. I am raising them with a lesbian couple...and we just so happen to live next door to each other in West Roxbury.
All along I have felt supported and lifted up by the LGBT community. It is wonderful to be a part of this community..a community woven into the fabric of Boston. Nowhere have I found a stronger ally that in Boston’s mayor Tom Menino. This town, and our community, would not be where we are without his administration and his personal support.
It is bittersweet to move on. I will miss my association with WCVB and I will miss being on TV. I look forward to spending more time with my family and new career challenges. While I support dozens of other causes in the greater Boston area, my heart is firmly with the gay community. I am not leaving, just moving on to different roles and different challenges. My success, both personally and professionally, owes a lot to the wonderful people of Massachusetts who judged me on the quality of my work, and allowed me to be open and honest. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
