Dave is a Mold Inspector and Remediator certified by the National Association of Mold Professionals (NAMP) of Detroit, Michigan in September 2004. He is one of only a few inspectors in Iowa trained in mold sampling techniques and lab data analyses. His accreditation in this work is from both the Indoor Environmental Standards Organization (IESO), and the Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA). He is also certified as a mold dog handler by the Florida Canine Academy of Tampa, Florida.

Dave was raised on a farm near Grinnell and has spent the majority of his life in Central Iowa. Farming planted the seeds of what was many years later to shape his concern with our environment.

After graduating in 1965 from Grinnell High School, he attended the University of Iowa, majoring in Journalism, Psychology, and Sociology.

As an honors student at the University, he graduated in 1970 with a BA from the School of Mass Communications. Upon graduation he moved to Colorado and published dear earth, an ecology magazine in Boulder. This enterprise marked the beginning of his involvement in, and understanding of the environment and how it affects our health.

Returning to Grinnell in 1985, he became the first student pilot to solo from the new Grinnell Regional Airport. His love of flying led him to develop and chair the new airport's first airshow for the City of Grinnell. While in Grinnell, he served on the Board of Directors for Main Street Grinnell, a Federal program for small town economic redevelopment. He also spearheaded a group to save and restore the old Rock Island Depot, which is today The Depot Restaurant. Dave moved to Des Moines from Grinnell in 1992.

Dave trained to become an Operating Engineer through Local #234 here in Des Moines. His work included the State Capital Restoration Project for Neumann Brothers Construction.

During the off-seasons, Dave worked as an administrator for The Building Inspectors in Des Moines. This was his introduction to the world of home & building inspection. In June of 2004, after the owner, Jim Tucker had retired and sold the business, Dave decided to specialize in Indoor Air Quality issues and started his new enterprise, aMOLDdetective in October 2004.