His 97-year-old father Seymour came to Florida in 1947 after serving in WWII, ultimately spending his life as a prosecutor, juvenile court judge and highly respected Mayor of Miami Beach. His mother Edith arrived from New York and spent her life as a foreign languages teacher in Florida’s public schools, including as one of the most popular teachers at Miami Beach High School. Dan’s wife, Joan Silverstein, is a career prosecutor.

Dan followed a similar path. He was appointed one of the nation’s youngest federal prosecutors. For nearly a decade, Dan handled some of Florida’s most significant public corruption prosecutions, ultimately becoming a decorated top deputy and supervising hundreds of federal prosecutors and investigations.

After his work in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Dan was selected to be the Democratic Chief Counsel and Staff Director for the prestigious U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations – a position previously held by Bobby Kennedy.

Dan led Senate delegations around the world and throughout the former Soviet Union to help prevent dangerous weapons and weapons technology from being smuggled to terrorist groups and rogue nations in the Middle East. He also led investigations and hearings, published reports and testified before the Congress on a wide array of domestic terrorism issues.

In 2000, Dan was elected to represent the residents of Miami Beach in the Florida House of Representatives. His House Democratic colleagues soon unanimously selected him as their Democratic Leader.

In 2008, he was elected to represent Florida’s 35th District in the Florida State Senate. In the legislature, Dan was a leading voice on strengthening public schools and improving public safety and public corruption laws. He led the battle against windstorm insurance rate hikes and was recognized as a relentless champion for LGBT rights. Today, Dan is considered to be one of Florida’s most respected voices on Florida public policy.

All the while Dan has been devoted to helping those who need a hand. When he was young man, Dan joined the Big Brothers program and was matched to 6-year old Travis, a child that had been abandoned by his parents.

Dan stayed with Travis for 25 years, and this year Travis will graduate in the top third of his class from Tufts Dental School with Dan proudly watching. When he was just 26, Dan co-founded a camp for kids with cancer and has spent most of his summers as a volunteer bunk counselor.

Dan is a magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University and the University of Florida College of Law, where he was a Truman Scholar. Dan founded the law firm Gelber Schachter Greenberg PA and is listed in Best Lawyers in America and has achieved the highest ethical rating from his peers. He and Joan have three children and a dog that they hope one day will be fully trained (the dog, not the children).