Don is a UF/IFAS Extension Regional Specialized Agent (RSA), who is responsible for the Southwest Extension District water resource program. He began his extension career in 2005 as a Commercial Horticulture Extension Agent for Sarasota County. His educational programs include urban and Ag. water quality, quantity, and supply the best management practices. His audiences and stakeholders include Extension Agents, landscape maintenance professionals, golf course and specialty turf managers, builders/developers, pest control operators, Agriculture producers, government decision-makers, and environmental agency specialists.

As an RSA, he addresses regionally-applicable water resource protection issues that are critical to economic development and environmental protection, for example, delivering advanced Green Industries and Golf Course and Sports Fields BMP programs with the focus on nutrient reduction and water conservation strategies. Don is also responsible for the creation and dissemination of educational programs and materials that are designed to affect knowledge gain and behavioral change for urban and agricultural audiences.

Don earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Georgia in 1995, where he studied Horticultural Science with an emphasis on Landscape and Grounds Management and a minor in Ag. Economics. In 2012, he earned a Master of Environmental Science from the University of Florida, where he focused on the study of urban soils, physical and chemical soil and water variability, and behavior within a residential community.

Between 2009 and 2018, Don served as the statewide coordinator for the Green Industries Best Management Practices (GI-BMP) training and certification program, an urban water quality program that addresses nonpoint source pollution.

Don is a frequent speaker at FTGA conferences and educational seminars and a veteran instructor for the Florida Golf Course Superintendent BMP Training program. Don was part of the National Golf Course BMP design team, where he and fellow UF Specialists produced the GCSAA BMP Planning Guide and Template that was adopted for use in all 50 states. Don has been recognized at both the national and state level for his programming excellence and recent graduate of “Leadership in the City,” an Ohio State University Certification program for Extension leaders.