The eldest of nine children, Dave exhibited leadership at a very early age.  His siblings recall that he did not hesitate to tell them what to do and to direct others on the farm.  His wit and intellect emerged as a small child also.  He was an honor student throughout primary school and until his graduation from Washington High School in 1968. His excellent academic record led to his acceptance and enrollment at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA, where he graduated in 1972.  While at Morehouse, Dave was a member of the Morehouse Maroon Tiger Marching Band and very proudly became an Omega man, pledging the Psi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi, Incorporated.

Dave’s first job after graduation was as a management trainee at General Motors in Michigan. He later started his public service career with the City of Atlanta in the early 1970s.  He took great pride in having the opportunity to work for Maynard Jackson, Atlanta’s first Black Mayor.  He considered it an honor and a privilege to help execute Mayor Jackson’s vision to increase the participation, growth, and development of minority-owned businesses. Dave periodically suggested “it’s better to be king maker than king.”

In 1988, Dave’s firm conducted the first Disparity Study, correctly anticipating the direction the U.S. Supreme Court was moving relative to Minority Business Set-Asides and goal-based programs.  When the Court ruled in the case, City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co., that set-asides were unconstitutional and that municipalities had to provide a higher burden of proof for minority business inclusion, Dave’s firm rapidly became one of the most sought after in the country to conduct Disparity Studies to provide that proof.