David is Ecuadorian, originally from Guayaquil. He has worked on conservation projects in Galapagos since 2008. David obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Guayaquil and his postgraduate degree from Wake Forest University in the USA.

Since 2015, he has worked on the Galapagos Land Bird Conservation Project. David focuses on obtaining data on the population status of landbirds throughout the Archipelago. He also conducts studies on bird species that are little studied and lack natural history information. David also collaborates on CDF's project to find methods to control the invasive parasitic fly Philornis downsi, which is the main threat to Galapagos landbirds.

David is currently a fellow of the Russell E. Train Education for Nature Program, World Wildlife Fund, and is undertaking his PhD at the University of Vienna.