David E. Sullivan is the elected Northwestern District Attorney and has served since 2011. He serves the citizens of Hampshire and Franklin counties in western Massachusetts.  Prior to becoming District Attorney, he was the Chief Administrator for Hampshire Probate & Family Court, and in private practice for 16 years, primarily as a criminal defense attorney. He was a civilian defense attorney in West Germany representing servicemembers in General and Special Courts-Martials.  As District Attorney, Sullivan has embraced a community prosecution model that blends smart and fair prosecutions, innovative prosecution and prevention programs, law enforcement partnerships, and community collaboration to build safer communities.

As District Attorney, Sullivan has:

• Created a Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit and implemented priority prosecutions for high risk domestic violence offenders;

  • Established a Drug Diversion and Treatment Diversion Program for drug possession and drug-related crimes to prioritize treatment over incarceration and other criminal sanctions:

• Established the Northwestern Law Enforcement Assistance Program (LEAP) to provide local law enforcement with access to essential criminal justice training programs, assistance, and investigative tools;

• Created a Outreach & Education Unit to provide community and educational trainings to strengthen communities and prevent crime;

• Co-founded the Veteran’s Justice Partnership with community and criminal justice partners to provide coordinated services and treatment, and rehabilitation, and alternatives to incarceration for local veterans and military service members who enter the criminal justice system;

• Co-founded the Western Massachusetts Veteran’s Treatment Court to serve court-involved veterans in the 3 western Massachusetts counties;

• Co-founded the Northwestern Fire Intervention Response, Education and Safety Partnership (NoFIRES) in collaboration with community and public safety partners to identify and help youth who are juvenile firesetters;

• Established a Safe School Response Team to prevent and promptly address acts of harassment, bullying, and violence that impact students, families and communities;

• Created a Child Sexual Predator Task Force to enhance training for law enforcement and prosecutors to aid in the investigation and prosecution of child sexual predators;

• Created a multi-cultural Citizen's Advisory Board to advise and assist the Office in the areas of community outreach and education, crime prevention, community prosecution, civic engagement, social justice and civil rights issues;

• Coordinated with community partners several National Prescription Drug Take Back Days in the Northwestern District resulting in the removal of more than 45 tons (90,000 pounds) of unwanted prescription and nonprescription drugs from our communities and spearheaded the establishment of permanent drug take back boxes in 25 area police stations;

• Launched the Campaign to End Sexual Assault on Campuses, a multimedia educational campaign with the theme "Consent: The Difference Between Sex and Rape," aimed at increasing awareness and reporting of sexual assaults on campuses;

• Co-founded and co-chairs the Hampshire HOPE ( Heroin/Opioid Prevention and Education Coalition) and the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and North Quabbin Region, both task forces taking a multi-disciplinary approach toward addressing the opioid epidemic impacting persons with addiction, their families, and communities;

• Co-founded and co-chairs the Northwestern Anti-Crime Task Force to address drug trafficking and major felonies in the Northwestern District;

• Served as a board member of the Governor's Council to Address Sexual and Domestic Violence, Honorary Co-Chairman of the 2015 Massachusetts White Ribbon Campaign to end violence against women, member of the Massachusetts Children's Trust Board of Directors, and a member of the Special Commission on Substance Addiction Treatment in the Criminal Justice System.

He serves as an advisory member to the Children’s Advocacy Center for Hampshire County and the Children’s Advocacy Center of Franklin County and North Quabbin Region. a CAC he co-founded in 2015.

Sullivan graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in Business Management (1981) and received his Juris Doctorate from Northeastern University School of Law (1986) in Boston, MA.