I am Dave.

I am married to the most amazing woman in the world (you can read more about her here). Melvin Udall, in the movie As Good as It Gets, says this about a woman:

You make me want to be a better man.

That is exactly how I describe Katie. She is more than I deserve, and she makes me want to be so much better. I love living life with her - through the good and the bad. I could not imagine a better person to share life with.

I grew up outside of Chicago in a small suburb called Crystal Lake. I have good memories of that town. Growing up outside of Chicago also explains my obsession with the Cubs. What can I say - I am a glutton for punishment! :)

We recently lived in Southern California, having lived out here for most of the last eight years. I first took a visit out to California in the fall of 1997 in order to visit Azusa Pacific University. And I did not take any more college visits after that. I attended APU for four years, receiving my B.A. in Biblical Studies, with two minors - leadership studies and Christian ministries.

While I focused my degrees in the religion area, I had really started to grow a passion for sociology. This was mainly due to a phenomenal professor that I had - Dr. Carrie Peirce. Carrie became more than a professor to me - she became a friend. And she also challenged everything that I had ever known. And I started to learn that life was bigger than what I had experienced. I questioned everything that I believed, everything that I thought, everything that I had been taught.

My passion to challenge everything and my passion for sociology sent me in the direction of graduate school. Two years after graduating from APU, I enrolled in Cal State - Fullerton's graduate sociology program. I will be graduating in a few months with my Masters degree with the goal of pursuing law school.

Wait...law school? Where did that come from?

For a long time I had planned on pursuing a PhD in sociology. This was the reason that I went to CSUF for a masters, so it would better prepare me for my doctorate. But things change. In the last few years I have developed a strong passion against the death penalty. I will not go into detail here, but this passion has led me to an interest (and now goal) of becoming a public defender. I have a passion to help those who cannot help themselves, including the guilty. And I believe that as a Christian we are called to help all people. There is absolutely no line drawn between the guilty and the innocent. PD Karla Gothard said it well:

...behind each headline or label, there is a human being with a story. When I look across the table at a client, I see a spark of God in them. I want to know who they are.

They deserve to be treated the same way that you and I do. And I am willing to do that.

So that is where I am going - law school. I do not know where, but I do know that I plan (hope?) to start in the fall of 2007.

We are now living in Chicago, in the north side neighborhood of Rogers Park. My wife got a job in the city, so we packed up and headed out. We have only been here for a short time, but so far we love it. It allows me to be even more obsessed with the Cubs, and places us just a couple of miles North of the beautiful Wrigley Field. What more can I ask for? :)

I now work in the progressive movement, fighting to better the lives of working families.

So that is me a nutshell. Married to an amazing woman. Living in Chicago. Fighting against the powers that be.