David is an urban and international educator, teacher, and writer. His work is place-based and intergenerational. He supports communities seeking to become more vital, joyous, and integrated places of learning. He has held leadership and teaching roles across non-profits, community-based organizations, independent, international, and charter schools, as well as higher education. A love for learning and interest in people rooted in agency and democratic practices have defined his journey with students and teachers for close to four decades.

Penberg holds an MS in Leadership and Supervision from Bank Street College and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of British Columbia. A resident of the Catskill Mountains, he has resided and worked in diverse cities and countries including  Bogota, Guangzhou, Mexico City, Barcelona, and Riyadh. Each was an apprenticeship in leading and learning the meaning of cultural appreciation, cultural identity, and becoming globally educated. 

In 2008, while the Head of Benjamin Franklyn International School, he was awarded a Klingenstein Fellowship for International School Heads at Teachers College, Columbia University.