David Madden is a social entrepreneur and education innovator best known for being the founder and Executive Director of International Academic Competitions (IAC), an organization serving over 100,000 students in 50+ countries. Through his work with IAC, David has founded the International History Olympiad, the International Geography Championships, the National Science Bee, and over 30 other competitions. In 2021, he launched the National Ecology and Environmental Science Exam as a benefit project for the Rainforest Alliance. He is working with the Rainforest Alliance to develop competitions and curriculum projects related to rainforest protection for students in the USA and Ecuador.
He received his Bachelor’s degree in Public Affairs from Princeton University and was a Rotary Scholar in Germany where he earned his Master’s in International Relations at the Freie Universität Berlin. In 2007, he spent seven months hiking from Canada to Key West as a fundraiser for the Fisher House Foundation, a charity serving veterans and their families. He is also the co-author of the catalogue raisonné for the American abstract artist Richard Anuszkiewicz, a 19-day champion on the quiz show Jeopardy! in 2005, and a co-champion of the Jeopardy! All-Star Games tournament in 2019.
David is a full-time traveler in support of his work with IAC and the Rainforest Alliance. He is currently spending the majority of his time in Poland, Italy, and Ecuador, where in 2023, he will be launching the International Polish Cultural Olympiad, the International Latin Olympiad, and the International Environmental Science Olympiad. He has specific interests in bird conservation and collaboration with indigenous rainforest communities.