Dan spent his formative years in the San Fernando Valley. He received his Bachelors Degree in Education from California State University, Northridge and earned a Masters Degree in Administration at the University of Southern California. He spent the first 20 years of his professional life as a hospital administrator, and the last 12 as the CEO of Sierra Kings District Hospital in Reedley, CA. In 1999, he was hired by the Fresno Superior Court to create and run the court’s first mediation program. Mr. DeSantis left the court in 2005 to become the CEO of the Fresno Regional Foundation. Dan’s wife Kathy left nursing to enter the legal profession and is currently the managing attorney of the 5th District Court of Appeal. They have one son, Angelo, who is a law student at U.C. Davis.