Daniel obtained his PhD in Civil Engineering from University of Tennessee and moved to Texas to serve as the project engineer at Kelly AFB in San Antonio. His team won the Texas Environmental Excellence Award for waste to energy initiatives at the City of Waco and the National Pollution Engineering Award for the US Dept. of Energy in Oak Ridge on an Eco Sensitive Remediation Project. Daniel was instrumental in the City of Waco receiving the Environmental Excellence Award for Waste to Energy Initiatives from Governor Rick Perry. As the City Engineer of Galveston, his team is responsible for Capital Improvement Projects and grant applications that are approaching half a billion dollars.