David W. Oaks, director of MindFreedom International, has been a psychiatric survivor human rights activist since 1976. David was a working class student attending Harvard University on scholarship in the 1970's when he experienced psychiatric institutionalization five times.

He was diagnosed as schizophrenic and underwent forced psychiatric drugging and solitary confinement. Harvard's student volunteer agency Phillips Brooks House placed David with one of the early psychiatric survivor human rights organizations, Mental Patients Liberation Front. David wrote his senior paper about community organizing with psychiatric survivors, and graduated with honors in 1977.

As well as his activist work in the field of human rights in the mental health system, David has also worked in the environmental, peace and social justice movements. He lives with his wife Debra in Oregon and loves camping and gardening. David has presented on topics such as "community organizing for independent systems change in the mental health system" to a diverse range of participants including in Chile, Norway, Ireland, Turkey and throughout the USA.

http://www.mindfreedom.org/