David Arnold
David began with The Literacy Alliance as a volunteer for a pre-HSE (Project Build) class in 2017 and was hired as a Project Aim teacher in the Youth Build program in February 2023. David also volunteers as a photographer for some TLA events.
David received his bachelor’s degree in “Social and Behavioral Sciences” in 1981 from Indiana University (Kokomo, Indiana). He received his Master of Divinity in 1984 from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (Evanston, Illinois). After two years of peer review and submission of his theological thesis, David was ordained an elder in the North Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church in 1986.
David served as a United Methodist pastor in the Indiana Conference for 38 years, from 1979 until his retirement in 2017. Following retirement, David served three years as a part-time hospice chaplain providing end-of-life counsel to patients in north-eastern Indiana.
Over the years, David received additional training in Conflict Resolution (The Alban Institute), Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (The Alban Institute), American Sign Language (IPFW), basic Spanish (Ball State University), CPR, and First Aid (The American Red Cross), and “Affirming Diversity, Challenging Racism” (Indiana Interreligious Commission on Human Equality). David earned his private pilot’s license in 1996 and flew a single-engine land aircraft (Cessna 172) for about ten years. He also studied portrait photography at IPFW and continues to enjoy photography as an avocation.
David and his wife, Diane, will celebrate 44 years of marriage this fall. They raised three children, all married, and enjoy spending time with their four grandchildren. David and Diane are avid campers and hope to travel throughout the United States over the next several years.