David Spell was inspired by his parents’ volunteering in everything from the Lion’s Club (helping disadvantaged communities) to the NDTA (engaged in disaster relief), David has tried to dedicate his life to learning about and aiding people, cultures, and technology.
David has tried to remain a generalist, mostly by studying and working in all aspects of computer-technology – a field which applies to any industry at any level. David received a bachelors in math and a masters in computer systems, with emphasis in computer graphics, telecomm, and physics. In addition, he found he enjoyed business management, and often switched between technical and management roles. Today, as an angel investor and frequent advisor in socially responsible startups, he has discovered a balance that should sustain him indefinitely.
David began as a software engineer for the department of defense processing telemetry data, developing 2D and 3D visualizations, and creating tools for computer-aided video production. Afterwards, he led IT at a branch naval hospital in Italy, and worked at AT&T, IBM, and several smaller startups in roles including engineer, manager, and the VP of Technical Services. Meanwhile, David co-authored patents on intelligent bandwidth-switching and an onscreen guide that is the basis for what we see when we press the “Guide” button on our remotes.
Family illness intervened, and David began working for Illumina as a lead engineer and department head helping to develop and validate genotyping and gene expression equipment to study genetic variation.
After 10 years, David left Illumina, and started Sitrova to aid entrepreneurs in creating high-tech solutions to global problems. David has had the pleasure to participate and invest in several great companies involved in education, renewable energy, manufacturing, and healthcare.
In 2021, David was honored to be asked to join the board at SDTC, and looks forward to helping make a difference.