Prior to joining ELTI, he was a Visiting Professor at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, where he taught environmental science and policy, environmental conflict management, and ecological restoration. He has lived in Southeast Asia for over 14 years. In addition to his time in Singapore, he spent six years in Indonesia where he conducted his dissertation research on park-community conflicts and settlement archaeology in the Kerinci Seblat National Park in central Sumatra. David holds a Ph.D. from the joint program in Forestry & Environmental Studies and Anthropology at Yale University.