Dave grew up on dairy farms in Wisconsin. After graduating from college he moved west and worked for the Forest Service in Oregon, Washington, Arizona and New Mexico. His primary responsibilities were managing forest road, trails, campgrounds and developing long range Forest management plans. Another part of his work was helping agency managers develop effective work teams and involving citizens with proposed forest projects.

Since leaving the Forest Service he has dedicated himself to helping citizens learn effective ways to determine the futures of their own communities. He has worked on citizen engagement projects in rural North Carolina, Idaho, Oregon, New Mexico, Arizona, and Montana.