A native of Fairfax County, Dave grew up in a small, hand-built house in the woods of Oakton, VA. (That house and those woods are now long gone!) He studied History at Davidson College (Davidson, NC) and the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara (Mexico), and later obtained an MA in Latin American Studies from The University of Texas - Austin. Dave worked in Government Affairs for the company now called Verizon for several years in Arlington, VA before marrying his college sweetheart, Lisa, in 1994 and moving to South Dakota to work at a school for special-needs Lakota (Sioux) children. Following that sojourn, Dave attended The Divinity School of Duke University (Durham, NC) and in 1999 received his first Virginia Conference appointment in Southside VA. He then served as Associate Pastor for Williamsburg UMC, and was subsequently appointed Lead Pastor at St. Mark’s UMC (Daleville) in the Roanoke Valley. In 2013, Dave was named Superintendent for the former Staunton District, comprised of 82 churches in the Shenandoah Valley and Allegheny Highlands. Dave began ministry at Williamsburg UMC as Lead Pastor in 2020, and became Lead Pastor to Trinity – McLean in 2025.
Dave’s wife, Dr. Lisa Rochford, hails from NC and is a child psychologist who practices locally; the Rochfords’ sons are Ben, a PhD student in Computational Sociology at Duke (along with wife Hannah, who is herself a Divinity student); Jon, an Arts Management undergrad at Randolph Macon College (Ashland, VA); and Alden, a 5th grader at Franklin Sherman ES.
The Rochfords enjoy hiking, camping, kayaking, travel, and the immersive life of the community called “Church.”