David Benevides
David Benevides, a civil engineer, has an illustrious career in local politics in Brazil. In 2016, at 26-years-old, he was elected one of the youngest mayors in Brazil leading the city of Redenção located at the state of Ceara. During his two terms, he prioritized expanding healthcare, improving education, and investing in infrastructure to promote social inclusion and sustainable growth. After serving eight years as mayor, he brought his unique perspectives to the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Executive Education program, Senior Executives in State and Local Government.
After his time in the mayor’s office concluded, David enrolled in State and Local to advance and hone his leadership skills even further. “Watching how rapidly the world is evolving while I served as mayor, I recognized the need to learn from one of the best institutions in the world when it comes to preparing leaders and advancing public administration,” he said.
“At the heart of my mission was always the goal of reducing social inequality by creating opportunity. To prepare for the challenges Brazil — and particularly Ceará — will face in the next two decades, I sought deeper knowledge, global perspective, and innovative tools. HKS provided exactly that: an opportunity to refine leadership, expand vision, and strengthen the ability to design inclusive, long-term policies.”
Keeping his city and its goals top of mind, David immersed himself in the curriculum to prepare himself for today’s most urgent issues. “State and Local reshaped the way I approach today’s challenges, providing practical tools for stronger decision-making,” he said. “One key lesson was the development of critical analysis — recognizing how a single piece of information can lead to very different outcomes depending on how the parameters are defined. This strengthened my ability to question assumptions, compare perspectives, and design more accurate strategies, while also introducing new ways to work with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.”
The core curriculum is just one key facet of the three-week, on-campus program, and David gleaned significant value from the offerings happening outside the classroom. He said, “We were constantly challenged not only by professors but also through outdoor activities and dynamic exercises that pushed us to apply theory to real-world situations. These experiences taught resilience, adaptability, and the ability to respond under pressure.”
David enjoyed the rigorous curriculum and team-building activities alongside his global cohort who had a strong influence both on his time at HKS as well as how he is now approaching his work back in Brazil. “Their stories and solutions provided valuable insights that could be adapted to my own reality. This program widened my horizons and created a unique environment where leadership skills were tested and refined in real time — lessons that continue to influence the way I design policies and lead initiatives in Brazil.”
David continues to implement those learnings into his day-to-day work in Redenção, specifically in his initiative to create a comprehensive medical center, which currently provides cares for multiple specialties, including pediatrics, cardiology, and pediatric neurology—and serves over 2,000 residents free of charge under Brazil’s universal health system. David describes the impact that the State and Local program had on this work as, “The value of Executive Education at HKS is truly priceless. The program is highly practical, pushing participants to apply what they learned directly to real projects. project through the tools and methodologies learned at HKS, I was able to better understand the strategic decisions we made and identify valuable lessons that I will apply to future challenges.”
In terms of his next professional challenge, David plans on pursuing a position as state deputy in Ceará’s parliament. He said, “This new chapter represents the opportunity to bring my experience and the knowledge acquired at Harvard Kennedy School to the legislative arena, where the focus will be on representation, policy development, and creating solutions with statewide impact.”
He continued, “Representing the people of Ceará is both an honor and a profound responsibility. It is about ensuring that their voices are heard while also delivering tangible solutions to today’s most pressing challenges. The foundation provided by HKS has strengthened my preparation to carry this responsibility forward — not only by addressing the structural inequalities of the present but also by shaping strategies that promote sustainable progress for the future.”
