Dave Waddell
David Waddell was a military “brat” in his early years, living abroad twice before his family settled on a small farm in Idaho. After high school, he served an LDS mission in Portugal. He attended Ricks College and later transferred to BYU, where he studied History and met his wife, Jennifer. For more than 20 years, David has worked in education administration, supporting colleges, faculty, and students in the college-to-career transition, professional competency development, and experiential learning. As part of President Kevin Worthen’s Inspiring Learning initiative, he became the inaugural director of BYU’s Office of Experiential Learning, helping implement the university’s vision and support structures for experiential education. Most recently, he has led a second-year success program for students at risk of not persisting to graduation. He and Jennifer live in Provo with their six children and enjoy traveling, board games, sports, and floating rivers.