Daniel earned his Ph.D. in Sociology at Colorado State University where he also taught for four years. In addition to a Ph.D. he also holds a M.A. in International Affairs from American University and an M.A. in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development from the United Nations’ University for Peace in Costa Rica. Daniel currently conducts research in Latin America and the United States focusing on environmental movements and indigeneity. Additionally, he engages in critical examinations of sustainable development with a special focus on community sovereignty. Daniel has recently published on theoretical tools that seek to better understand competing concepts of, and "connections" to, nature. His work is informed by a political ecological orientation that stresses differential harms and benefits of environmental policies as these harms and benefits are distributed along existing lines of stratification.