A previous assistant principal (Learning, Teaching & Curriculum Innovation) and instructional coach, he has taught and held leadership positions in government, catholic and independent schools across metropolitan Melbourne and remote Western Australia. He is passionate about student engagement and learning, developing aspiring and current leaders, and using coaching approaches to drive improvement in teaching, learning, and leadership in educational settings.

He was more recently Assistant Principal at Aldercourt Primary School in North Frankston, where he led the development of the new whole-school curriculum and teaching and learning model. Coaching was integral to his leadership work across the Frankston North community of schools, and this collaborative work across three schools was recognised in 2022 by winning the Outstanding School Improvement award and Lindsay Thompson Award for Excellence at the Victorian Education Excellence Awards.

Dan is highly regarded for his learner-centred approach; engaging and interactive presentations, workshops and keynotes, and always keeping students, teachers, or leaders he is working with at the core of every learning experience.

His appetite for learning has extended to working as a sessional University tutor with beginning teachers, completing a Bachelor of Education (Hons.), a Master of Educational Leadership (Leading Learning), and pursuing doctoral study on the impact of coaching on leaders.