David Conover

David Conover was born and raised in a New England family with strong ties to the sea and a tradition of active storytelling. Both grandfathers were amateur filmmakers in the 1920's and 30's. Upon graduating with a degree in comparative religious studies from Bowdoin College in Maine, David worked as a professional seaman.  He has extensive experience in the Atlantic and Pacific, which includes two transatlantic crossings in small boats. He spent five years designing and teaching sea courses for kids age 14-18 at the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School in Maine and in Florida. This was followed by a Master's Degree in Education at Harvard, where David studied moral development and then a second year as a Kennedy School Graduate Teaching Assistant in leadership studies. In 1987, he directed and produced his first documentary, OUTWARD BOUND, which aired on National Geographic Explorer.  After three years at the New Film Company, he launched Compass Light in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Two years later, he moved back to Maine, which has been home base ever since.

David resides with his wife Beverly and their two children in Camden, where he’s occasionally taught at the Maine Media Workshops in nearby Rockport, serves on the board of the Penobscot Maritime Museum and the Advisory Council of Mystic Seaport, and shares the summer caretaking duties of a Maine island lighthouse with his mother and extended family.