Dan’s dad, Danny, believed in dignity and respect for all. Every day, he worked to assist people in their community find affordable and safe housing. Dan’s mom, Betty, showed what grit and determination looked like. She put herself through night school to obtain certification for federal government work, and then put her smarts to work at the local Portsmouth, VA, Naval Base, home to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
From his parents, Dan learned firsthand about hard work, compassion, and how to listen carefully to others to bring people together and get things done. Those lessons have stayed with Dan throughout his life – and those are the values he’ll bring to the State Senate working for us.
Dan moved to Delaware in 1996 to attend law school and has lived here ever since. For decades, Dan has served in leadership positions working to make life better for Delawareans whether in public education or the non-profit sector or volunteering his personal time. In 2009, he was appointed by Governor Jack Markell as Delaware’s Deputy Secretary of Education where he worked with educators, parents, and the community to strengthen public schools across the state.
Before that, Dan served in several roles for the Christina School District including Assistant Superintendent and Chief of Staff to Dr. Lillian Lowery. He’s also worked for a national public policy organization and had the privilege of working for Joe Biden during his time in the U.S. Senate. As a young law school graduate, he clerked for the Honorable Kent A. Jordan in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Delaware.
Today, Dan serves as the Chief Operating Officer for the United Way of Delaware where the mission is to help people plain and simple.
He and his team work to support programs that help kids learn to read, prepare young people for career success, and partner with other organizations to serve the community. He helps raise funding from businesses, labor unions, and individuals across our entire state.
Dan has also volunteered his time in with community organizations over the years to make Delaware a better home for everyone including with the Delaware Humane Association, Delaware Theatre Company, Delaware Community Foundation, Philanthropy Delaware and other impactful nonprofits. His active participation at the grassroots level for the Democratic Party, walking door-to-door and working at phone banks on behalf of Democratic candidates reflects the values learned from his family then and now.
He lives with his spouse Bart, a retired public-school teacher and principal, in Wilmington. Dan graduated from James Madison University (a public institution) with an undergraduate degree in International Affairs and earned a law degree from Delaware Law School.
