David Silverman (activist)

David Silverman
David Silverman in 2011
Born	(1966-08-13) 13 August 1966 (age 50) Marblehead, Massachusetts, United States
Residence	Cranford, New Jersey
Citizenship	American
Institutions	American Atheists
Alma mater	Brandeis University Penn State University Seton Hall University
Known for	Atheist activism, Separation of church and state, Criticism of religion

David "Dave" Silverman (born August 13, 1966) is the current president of the American Atheists, a non-profit organization that supports the rights of atheists and the removal of expressions of religion in public when possibly interpretable as governmental endorsement, in accordance with the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. His annual anti-Christmas billboard which calls Christmas "a myth" has often sparked controversy.

Silverman was born in a middle-class Reform Jewish family in Marblehead, Massachusetts. He went to Hebrew school and was bar mitzvahed when he was 13 year old.

David Silverman began publicly challenging religion in high school and often states in interviews that he became an atheist at the age of six. Although he was never in the closet about his disbelief, he was forced to do his Bar mitzvah. He calls this the turning point in his life where he decided never to lie about his atheism again because he had gotten up on stage and told all the people he knew that he believed in God. Seventeen years later his father admitted to him that he also was an atheist. He received a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Brandeis University and MBA in Marketing from Penn State University, and an Advanced Graduate Certificate in International Business from Seton Hall. Silverman is a former professional inventor with 74 patents, and has authored several articles, including a cover story for Inventors Digest.

Silverman has worked with the American Atheists organization since 1996, and has held a variety of roles, including: New Jersey State Director, Communications Director, and Vice President. He was elected president of American Atheists on September 16, 2010, following Ed Buckner.