David is a 30-year Rotarian. He joined the Calexico Rotary Club in 1984. He was that club’s President for 1987-88. He transferred to LMSR in 2000. David was LMSR President in 2004-2005.

David was born July 3, 1933 and graduated from Chula Vista High School in 1950. He went on to receive a B.A. in Spanish from the University of Redlands in 1955. He received an M.A. from Middlebury College in Vermont and its study abroad program at the University of Madrid. That was in 1958. He continued his academic education with a Ph. D. in Latin American Studies from the University of Southern California in 1968. Last but not least, David received an MBA degree from the University of Redlands in 1995.

David is the third of eight children.  His beloved parents were the Reverend Leonardo and Rosa Garcia Ballesteros.  David is married to Dr. Dolores Ballesteros. David has three daughters and Dolores one son from a previous marriage, nine grandchildren, and one great-grandson. Space does not allow naming all his siblings, children, grandchildren, and great-grandson. Actually, we could have just named his great-grandson since that is one name. Oops, too late.

David has had an extensive work life and multi-faceted career. That should not surprise anyone who knows David. Mr. Boundless Energy.

Key job positions include:  Helix High School 1958-1968. University of Oklahoma 1968-1969.  U.S. Office of Education Fellow 1969-1970. University of Texas, Austin, Director of Teacher Corps 1970-1972. CSU Sacramento, Dean of Arts and Sciences 1972-1977. University of Colorado, Colorado Springs 1977-1983. Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, San Diego State University, Dean/CEO Imperial valley Campus, 1983-1997. Now you know how he ended up at the Calexico Rotary Club. 

In addition, David was a Consultant for the U.S. Department of Education, Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Department of State.

To finish an accounting of his work and career life, David was a Visiting Professor at two universities in Ecuador and at two universities in Baja California.

Honors: Spanish Government Scholarship,

Fulbright Award for Mexico, SDSU Imperial Valley campus naming of The David Ballesteros Tower.

Hobbies:  Baseball, basketball, tennis, chess.

A List of “Favorites”:

Books:  of famous people, i.e. Bobby Kennedy, Sonia Sotomayor, Latin American poetry, Broadway plays, i.e. “Man of La Mancha”.

Travel: Cruising in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, across the Atlantic, Cape Horn, Panama Canal. Visiting every continent except Australia and Antarctica.

Foods:  Thai, Mexican, Italian

Person he would like to meet: Pope Francis because of his multi-lingual, multi-cultural, humanitarian world outlook.

Pet peeve: People borrowing things and not returning them.

Words of Wisdom:  “In negotiating situations, strive for a “win/win situation”. (This is appropriate to the Rotary 4-Way Test, “Is it beneficial to all concerned?”)