David was born in Poughkeepsie, New York. He was educated in Hyde Park schools and graduated from F.D. Roosevelt High School in 1973. He then attended Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, and graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Education in 1977.
David married Nancy Miller in Spring of 1977 and they made their home in Brookline, Massachusetts, where David attended school at Boston College Law School, graduating in 1980 with a Juris Doctor degree. He passed the Massachusetts and New York Bar Exams, worked at the law firm of Lawson & Wayne, in Boston for one year before returning to Poughkeepsie.
From 1981-1986, David practiced with the law firm of Silber, Silber, Wozniak and Pisanelli. In 1987, David and his brother, Gerard, started Pisanelli & Pisanelli, where David concentrated on Real Estate and Family Law.
In 1992, David took a leave of absence from the practice of law. That leave lasted seven years during which he taught high school, first at Dutchess BOCES and later at his Alma Mater, F.D. Roosevelt High School. It was then that he was able to pursue his personal passion, coaching football.
In 1999, David returned to the legal world as Title Counsel to River City Abstract, LLC in Poughkeepsie, New York. On January 1, 2014, David took ownership of the assets of River City Abstract, LLC., and is now President and General Counsel to River City Abstract of Hudson Valley, Inc.
David and his wife, Nancy, are now empty nesters with three grown children, Amy, Brian and Kristen, all residing in New York City.