David Buckley ’26 is a University of Notre Dame student majoring in Global Affairs with minors in Theology, Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation, and Real Estate. As a Kellogg Developing Researcher, Buckley has strengthened his qualitative and quantitative research skills through targeted academic training and policy-relevant projects. His academic interests focus on international development and social entrepreneurship.
In the summer of 2023, Buckley volunteered with an NGO in Lithuania serving the Roma community. In summer 2024, he worked with Caritas and AGAPE in Lublin, Poland, as part of the Nanovic Institute’s Serving (in) Europe program, supporting food distribution networks and educational programming for refugee and at-risk youth. In summer 2025, he returned to Poland with a Pulte Institute Fellowship to conduct field research on the organizational resilience of Caritas Poland’s federated NGO structure in response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis. That same summer, he also served as a Summer Associate in the Research group at AlphaSights, delivering high-speed expert analysis for capital markets clients.
On campus, Buckley serves as Co-Head of the Startup Coach Program and Manager of the Pre-Accelerator at Notre Dame’s IDEA Center, overseeing the mentorship and funding support of over 100 student ventures. He is also a research affiliate with the Humanitarian Operations (HOPE) Lab at Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business and a member of the Notre Dame Boxing Club.