Dan joined the Canadian Forces in 1998 as a Royal Canadian Engineer, attending the Royal Military College of Canada. He graduated in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.

Dan spent the next eight years as a regular force officer, subsequently transferring to the Army Reserve. Over his career, Dan served with several regiments in addition to deployments to Afghanistan, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In his current reserve role, Dan serves as the Senior Advisor to the Office of the Chief Military Engineer.

Dan began his civilian career in 2010, working as a real property leader at McGill University. In 2019, Dan moved to WSP, a global engineering consulting firm, where he led their defence and security practice, its Future Ready team in addition to its thought leadership program.

In August 2023, Dan moved to KPMG, where he was the Director and the National Practice Lead, Defence and Security. In 2025, Dan moved from KPMG to ADGA Group Consulting where he is their Vice President, Business Development and Marketing. In addition to his regular duties, Dan is also seconded part-time as the Climate Security and Defence Lead for the Sustainable Markets Initiative, the flagship non-profit organization of King Charles III.

In addition to his bachelor’ degree, Dan holds master’s degrees in both Human Security and Peacebuilding (Royal Roads) and Business Administration (Concordia). He is also a professional engineer (eng.), project management professional (PMP) and human resource professional (CRHA). 

Dan sits on boards of the Vimy Foundation and Canadian Military Engineers Association. He is also an Honorary Patron for the International Forum for Peace, Security and Prosperity (IFPSP) and volunteers with several other organizations.