Cross-Training for Life
By day, David Hunter ’92 is Coldwell Banker’s commercial director for the east coast of Florida. Outside the office, “Favor Dave,” a nickname he earned at UF as a history major through his willingness to lend a hand, puts his extensive managerial background to work as an advisor and advocate for several philanthropic organizations.
Hunter’s nonprofit work began as a financial advisor for Amazon Vision Ministries (AVM), which runs medical mission trips into the Amazon basin. With a strong business background and self-described penchant for nonlinear thinking, Hunter helped AVM make better use of their funds, advising in their allocation, coordination, source search, and outreach.
After he was injured in a fall during a procedure at a local hospital, Hunter founded the Florida Patient Association, advocating that full medical record transparency and patient-oriented best-practices procedures be implemented. “Everyone has advocates on their sides — doctors, nurses, hospital administration — but the voice of the patient was getting lost.” This involvement with the medical community led the Florida Institute of Technology’s College of Biomedical Engineering to invite him to join their board, monitoring patient-centric best practices in the development of hydrogel technology for drug delivery. He said yes. “I always say yes. You never know under what guise opportunity will present itself.”
Hunter credits his studies at UF as the catalyst that reinforced his broad-minded approach to problem solving and learning. “I think the exposure I got at school to different cultures and philosophies basically cross-trained me at life.” He further says, “I like to look at future possibilities and connect all the dots. It helps prevent me from getting stuck in present conditions and keep aiming for positive results.”