Dave served in a variety of science positions at the National Science Foundation (NSF) from 2000-2025 including Director of the Paleoclimate Program and Deputy Division Director in the Geoscience Directorate’s Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences. While at the NSF, Dave also served as President of the labor union representing staff at several federal agencies including NSF, NEA, NEH, USDA, USGS, IMLS, ADF.

Prior to NSF, Dave served as Deputy to the Chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for the Special Report on Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry. The UN IPCC team was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for its work. Dave also served as a staff member in the U.S. Senate and spent six years in the U.S. Coast Guard as a Boatswain Mate in charge of search and rescue vessels. Since 2014, Dave has served as Adjunct Faculty at George Mason University in the College of Science.