About

DAVID E. SHELLENBERGER

Professional

Dave is a libertarian commentator, covering the globe. Libertarians advocate for limited government, free markets, and individual liberty.

Dave believes libertarianism is the truly compassionate political philosophy, leaving people free, unburdened by illegitimate government power.

In the past, Dave worked as a securities attorney. He was a pioneer in investor rights, with his own law firm in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1989 through 1998. He represented victims of Wall Street’s fraud and abuse and advocated for regulators’ attention to the problems.

During this period, for several years, he also was an adjunct instructor in Business Law at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. He enjoyed teaching both undergraduate and MBA students at this well-respected school.

Dave next served as Chief of Licensing for the Massachusetts Securities Division, leading the national efforts to expose fraud in the day trading industry. This included acting as the lead writer and editor of the official report, and testifying before a hearing of the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation.

He then was Chief Counsel for the New York office of NASD (now FINRA), which regulates the brokerage industry, heading enforcement for the region. Business Week called him a “no-nonsense regulator.” After that he worked as an in-house counsel and executive in the industry, leading the development of cutting-edge compliance systems.

After repeatedly making his mark as anti-fraud attorney, Dave determined to pursue his decades-long interest in professionally communicating the libertarian viewpoint. He has always been a friend of the underdog, and believes that the greatest threat to individuals throughout the world is government oppression.

Wise investors can simply avoid Wall Street, Dave observes, using no-load index funds. But citizens cannot avoid their countries’ governments. The relationship is involuntary, and, Dave believes, usually entails excessive taxation, unreasonable restrictions on freedom, overregulation, and the favoring of special interests.

Dave brings the same passion, and the same powers of skepticism, insight, and advocacy to his current mission that he brought to his legal work as a critic of Wall Street and regulators. He is conversant in politics, economics, law, and regulation. His other widespread interests include business, investing, science, the environment, animal welfare, psychology, and sociology.

A libertarian for decades, Dave has supported liberty-oriented think tanks for many years. He also has attended numerous events sponsored by these organizations, including Cato University programs.

Personal

Dave was born in upstate New York. His parents were renowned YMCA executives.

Dave spent his first years in upstate New York and then several years in Oklahoma, where he enjoyed being a young cowboy. After that, his family settled in tamer Framingham, Massachusetts, outside of Boston. Because of his parents’ work, Dave had the benefit of enjoying the natural environment and meeting people from all over the country and the world. He also traveled to Europe and Japan on trips, and later led a trip to Japan.

Dave earned his B.A. in Environmental Science from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, and his J.D. from Boston University School of Law. He has lived in Boston, New York City, and Connecticut, and currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Dave patiently awaits Ms. Right’s finding him, and in the meantime focuses on his work. He has always been motivated to try to make the world a better place. He now enjoys his greatest challenge–being a voice for freedom.