About David
Earlier in my career, I was convinced I needed to find my calling, the one thing I would devote myself to for a long time in order to help others and build a legacy.
That belief shaped much of my 20s and 30s. I moved between periods of deep conviction and periods of feeling completely lost. I left college for the seminary believing I was called to be a priest. I later left the seminary for Seattle with $400 and no real plan. I moved from Seattle to New York convinced I was meant to be a corporate leader, and eventually left New York for the Bay Area largely based on intuition.
Along the way, something ironic happened. I became a people leader in the corporate world and was known for helping others find their paths both as individual contributors and as leaders. Because I’d lived through so many transitions, I could guide others through theirs, even as I struggled with my own.
On the long drive from New York to the Bay Area in the waning days of 2014, I asked a close friend if I was making the right choice in leaving a successful, lucrative career for something uncertain. He said, “This isn’t about choosing a right or wrong path; it’s about choosing whether to turn left or right.”
That reframed everything. I came to see that my problem was the belief that there was only one correct calling, one definite path to find.
What mattered more was taking the lead in my own life. That meant getting clear on what I cared about, choosing among possible paths, and committing to one with intention rather than certainty.
That insight became the foundation of my work as a coach, both for people at a career crossroads and for those who are stepping into new leadership and executive roles.
Since completing a two-year intensive coach training program in 2017, I’ve coached hundreds of professionals across thousands of hours. I hold a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential through the International Coaching Federation and draw on training from Crucial Conversations, the Hogan Leadership Series, Internal Family Systems, and a Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification.
Today, I work with thoughtful professionals and leaders navigating the complexity of transition. I help them make meaning in their choices, take ownership of their direction, and engage in work that feels grounded and intentional.
Some facts about me:
I’ve driven across the country (coast to coast) four times, with each journey having a different pace - the first in three days, the second in four, the third in six, and the fourth in five. This means I also define staying in a state as having slept the night or having driven across. (Airports still don’t count.) By that definition, I’ve visited 43 of the 50 states.
I spent two years in a Roman Catholic seminary in Boston studying to be a priest. I received a degree in philosophy and also learned classical Latin.
Even though my mother played guitar since I was young, I didn’t pick it up until a week after I left my last corporate job in June 2019.
On my first trip to Cambodia back in the 2010s with my best friend, we ate three deep fried tarantulas. It took us about twenty minutes: ten minutes for fretting about eating it, two minutes for breaking it apart so it didn’t look like a tarantula anymore, and the other eight minutes - with many pauses in between – for eating the legs (crunchy and didn’t taste like much) and the body (chewy and tasted like a cross between chicken and frog). We couldn’t bring ourselves to eat the heads.
I’ve read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings at least 20 times since I was about 10 years old.
I started knitting in the spring of 2025 because I wanted a hobby that resulted in something tactile. One of my first projects was a 12-foot long and 3/4 foot wide scarf for my partner that took me about 9 months to finish.
Throughout the almost 20 years that I played baseball and softball, I played every position except shortstop.
