Dave White

Dave has over 35 years of professional leadership experience in natural resource conservation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and in the private sector. He was Chief of the NRCS from January 2009 to December 2012. As Chief, Dave led the nation’s largest private lands natural resource conservation organization. Under his leadership, the NRCS created and implemented landscape level conservation initiatives that focused financial and technical resources on solving problems; particularly in the area of water quality and quantity. Prior to serving as Chief, he was the State Conservationist in Montana. Dave has spent significant time on Capitol Hill. In 2002, he was detailed to Indiana Senator Richard Lugar, and in 2008 to Iowa Senator Tom Harkin. During those times, he helped craft the conservation titles of both the 2002 and 2008 Farm Bills. Currently, Dave serves as president of Ecosystem Services Exchange, a start-up dedicated to fostering the development of environmental trading programs, and he is the Co-Founder and Partner of the 9b Group, a benefit corporation focused on consulting and lobbying for sustainable agriculture. Dave is an honors graduate of the University of Missouri where he studied agricultural journalism. He and his wife live in Charlottesville, Virginia, and have a grown son and daughter and one grandson.