Dave graduated in Computer Science in 1985 from Seattle Pacific University (SPU). He received an MS in Information Systems Management in 1990, also from SPU. He has been involved in the software industry for 30 years in diverse roles including more than a decade at Microsoft, time as a free-lance developer, and another decade as a partner and chief technology officer of a small start-up. In 2012, he received a BA in Maritime Studies from the University of West Florida. He has participated in field projects in the Great Basin (Rimrock Draw in southern Oregon), Idaho (Cooper’s Ferry), and Mallorca, Spain. Dave defended his dissertation, titled 'Using Landscape Learning to Explore Diachronic Change: A Quantitative Model and Western Stemmed Tradition Case Study', in 2022.