David Olson

Steering Committee

David holds degrees from Thiel College (B.A.), Westminster College (M.A.), and Kent State University (Ph.D.). With a lifelong commitment to education, he served as a public school teacher from 1966 to 1978 in the Adirondack Central Schools in Boonville, New York, and the Mars Area School District in Mars, Pennsylvania.

From 1978 to 2006, David worked in public school administration, serving in the Delaware Valley School District and later in the Northwestern School District in Albion, Pennsylvania. During that time, he served as an elementary principal until 1999, when he became Director of Curriculum and Instruction.

In addition to a distinguished career in education, David has been deeply involved in church leadership and service. He has served on the church council at St. James Lutheran Church, including many years as president, and has also sung in the church choir and taught Sunday School. He also helped develop the articles of agreement for a shared ministry program with St. John’s Lutheran Church in Girard, Pennsylvania.

David has served two six-year terms on the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod’s Church Vocations Committee and has been an Authorized Lay Worship Leader since 2007. He also serves on the Synod’s Budget Committee.

Beyond education and ministry, David is an active Master Gardener in Erie County through Penn State Extension. He regularly volunteers and gives presentations on a wide variety of gardening topics, including seed starting, seed saving, gardening then and now, pruning ornamentals, dahlia 101, vertical gardening, house plants, gardening myths and puzzlers, sunflowers, and more.. He is currently developing a presentation on gardening as we age.

David also serves as President of the Northwestern Community Educational Foundation, which supports students, teachers, and the broader Northwestern School District community through scholarships, teacher mini-grants, and stewardship of the Valley School Museum, a historic one-room schoolhouse relocated to the district campus in 1999.

Among David’s many interests, gardening—especially growing dahlias—is a particular passion! He also enjoys grilling and experimenting with new recipes.

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