Who We Are

David is a native of Southern California. He and his wife Dayna have a passion for this community and working with the home and the church to free a generation to think and live well to the glory of God.

David studied Economics and Business at Westmont College where he also competed in collegiate baseball. Having not been raised in the Church, David’s life was transformed through his pursuit of academics and the Christian faith in college. This experience gave him a deep love for Christ and His Church, for the life of the mind, and for Christian schooling.

After working in business for a few years, David returned to school to earn a Master’s degree in Global Commerce and Management from Whitworth University. During his studies at Whitworth, David served as a volunteer consultant for Pacifica-Santa Monica in the areas of marketing and community development prior to the school opening. When the school opened its doors in 2005, David and Dayna took founding positions at Pacifica-Santa Monica. He served as Director of Admissions & Development for several years before adding College Counseling to his role. In his final year with the school, David served as the Assistant Head of School. Dayna, who has a B.A. in biology and chemistry as well as a Master’s degree in Education, served as the founding science chair. The two of them oversaw student life and the international student travel program taking students to countries such as Costa Rica, England, France, Italy, and Malawi.

During their time in Santa Monica, David and Dayna poured their lives into the Church running both the high school group and the young adults program.

In 2011, David became the Head of School at Providence Hall in Santa Barbara, taking the reigns from his predecessor, mentor, and friend Dr. David Winter, President Emeritus of Westmont College. Within the first 6 weeks of David’s arrival at Providence Hall, he executed the relocation of the school’s campus and launched a new middle school program. Under David’s leadership Providence was awarded the Outstanding Campus Award by the California Educators’ Hall of Fame, received the Santa Barbara News-Press 2014 Readers’ Choice Award for best private high school, and the school’s accreditation through WASC was renewed at the highest level. During his final two years at Providence Hall (7-12), David helped lead the successful merger with Santa Barbara Christian School (K-8) establishing Providence as a thriving K-12 Christian school.

In 2014, David was invited to serve as the founding Head of School for Pacifica-Orange County. His vision was, and still is, clear: that Pacifica be the strongest school of its kind, one that takes seriously the intellectual and moral formation of young people, rooted in the transformative power of Jesus Christ, Scripture, and the Church. At its best, Pacifica is an offering of love to the community, dedicated to freeing a generation to think and live well—in the marketplace, the home, the church, and the wider world. 

David has faithfully led Pacifica through its first decade, transforming it from a vision into a thriving learning community. He now looks ahead with anticipation to the school's next decade of faithful work and ministry.

David and Dayna have three children, Hadley, Chloe, and William. The O’Neil’s enjoy the beach, baseball, reading, camping, concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, and camping around the country during summer vacation.

Credentials

B.A. Economics and Business — Westmont College
M.A. Global Commerce and Management — Whitworth University