David grew up in the East Bay, spending his childhood tending to backyard gardens and fruit trees and visiting his family on farms and ranches in Iowa and Montana. He later went to Deep Springs College; he considers his time there to be one of his formative experiences for practicing and studying organic agriculture and regenerative ranching.

He then spent over a decade working for the East New York Farms! Project, a community-led food sovereignty organization in Brooklyn, New York. As farm manager, he cultivated specialty crops from the Caribbean, Africa, and South Asia for two weekly farmers markets alongside a dedicated group of urban gardeners. During his tenure as project director, he formed participatory research partnerships linking academic institutions with community members as well as building out several new farms on public housing campuses.

David and his partner Loreal left New York in 2020 to take over management of his sister’s farmland in Esparto. They have primarily focused on building soils and restoring wildlife habitat throughout the property while also growing seed crops for Truelove Seeds and raising vegetables, fruit, and flowers to share with their friends and family. David worked with Solano RCD before coming to KTA, and hopes to leverage his local connections and experience farming and community organizing to support long-term sustainability for small farmers and ranchers in our region.