Dan has had the privilege of serving the citizens of Greene County as the elected prosecutor or as an assistant prosecutor since 1996. Prior to his election in 2010, Dan served as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, as First Assistant leading the Major Crimes Unit, and as Chief Assistant. Dan also served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney under the Project Safe Neighborhoods program. In 2019, Dan was recognized as Missouri’s Prosecutor of the Year by the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, in part, for his work in establishing the Greene County Family Justice Center. Dan served as the president of the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys from 2021 to 2023.

Dan retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the Missouri Army National Guard in 2017. Dan deployed with his Missouri National Guard units twice: first, with the 135th Field Artillery Brigade, in support of the homeland defense mission Operation Noble Eagle and, later as the Deputy Command Judge Advocate for Multi-National Task Force East, Kosovo Forces 10. Dan is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic Course, the Judge Advocate General's Corps Advanced Course, and the Command & General Staff College. Dan's military decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Army Achievement Medal.

Dan is a member of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association and serves on the Bench and Bar Committee. Dan served on the 2024 Advisory Committee on the Missouri Criminal Code and previously served on the Missouri Task Force on Children’s Justice. He is a prior Child Advocacy Center Board of Directors member and is a past president of the Victim Center Board of Directors. Dan continues to serve our community on the Community Partnership of the Ozarks’ Child Abuse and Neglect Collaborative, Ozarks Fighting Back, and as a Board Member for the Greene County Family Justice Center Alliance. Dan is a POST certified instructor and enjoys teaching at Springfield Police Department Academy.  Dan is a member of the Springfield Sunrise Rotary Club, attends Christ Episcopal Church with his family, and is an Eagle Scout.

A 1986 graduate of Springfield's Kickapoo High School, he completed his undergraduate degree majoring in Business Administration at Oklahoma State University in 1990, and obtained his law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law in 1993, graduating Cum Laude. While attending law school, Dan was a member of the editorial board of the Missouri Law Review.