Dave is a retired history teacher from Temecula, California. His credentialing also allows him to teach English, Business Education and computing. He grew up mostly in Santa Ana; but, because his pop was a computer programmer, his family moved around a lot. In 1984, Dave moved to Norway to complete a year-long study-abroad program. Upon returning he earned a BA in Comparative Literature from California State University, Fullerton. He also holds an MS in Special Education from National University, La Jolla. His thesis centered on the benefit of class size reduction to special needs students.
 
Dave had been planning on a career as a technical writer; and, although he has done some technical writing, he never did earn his living as a technical writer. He spent thirteen years at various levels of retail store management for a few nationwide drug stores in southern California. At the age of 39, he returned to graduate school to enter the teaching profession.
 
Dave met his future wife, Durga Maya Bhattachan, at Terra Cotta Middle School in Lake Elsinore, California. They both enjoy meditation, travel, dance and volunteering. In 2018, he and his wife retired early to travel North America in an RV, live in Nepal part of the year with his mother-in-law and travel the rest of the time . They were homeless and jobless and surviving on lowered expenses and a small retirement. By doing slow, participatory travel (meaning, staying in places for weeks or months) they could keep expenses down and establish meaningful relationships with nice, interesting people. After a conversation with Narayan Baral in 2019, they embarked on their kindness journey.