After graduating in 2011 with a degree in sport management from Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, David Damerell's path to a full-time role in ticketing took some time.
He worked internships, took part-time jobs and moved between professional sports and the performing arts before finally landing his first full-time position with the Washington Ballet eight years later.
At one point, he juggled three part-time jobs with the Washington Nationals, the Washington Capitals and the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. It was a lot to manage, David says, but the experience and connections he gained were invaluable and rewarding.
One of his contacts would prove especially important. David got to know Richard Powers while working part-time at Wolf Trap, where Richard was then Assistant Director of Ticket Services.
"I wouldn't be in my role today if it weren't for him," Damerell says. "He pushed me to apply for my first full-time job [at the Washington Ballet], helped me edit my resume, wrote me a reference letter and ever since, he's been one of the people I can always go to if I have a question or need assistance in any way."
David got the job and spent the next year and a half at the ballet, eventually becoming Ticket Services Manager. He left in March 2019 and returned to Wolf Trap as Assistant Director of Ticket Services.
At Wolf Trap, David oversees ticketing and patron services across three venues and 200 performances a year. The operation generates about $20 million in ticket revenue and serves more than 100,000 unique patron households. He also helps hire, train, schedule and motivate a staff of more than 30 people, while overseeing sales reporting, cash controls, artist settlement audits and the day-to-day patron issues that come with running a busy performing arts operation.
David describes himself as intrinsically motivated, always working to be more creative and find solutions. But when asked what he likes most about the job, his answer comes back to those on the other side of the ticket.
"[I like] that we are bringing people joy," he says. "Seeing people coming in and being excited to see their favorite artist, it's one of the big things for me ... You can have an opera one night, Gregory Alan Isakov another night, the National Symphony Orchestra playing Harry Potter and then James Taylor. Every show brings a different challenge. Every audience is different, and that's one of the things I like most about my job."
For David, one early night at Wolf Trap brought home just how far he had come after years of working his way up.
"[It was] my first solo show at the Filene Center, which happened to be Johnny Mathis," he recalls. "That's when it hit me that I had made it in the industry, that I have a full-time job now. There were some challenges with that show, but it was a fun one to work."
The support David received early in his career has also shaped the way he gives back. As he has progressed professionally, INTIX has become an important part of his life, both for the relationships he has built and the opportunities it gives him to help others.
"It's the people, for sure. Having a network I can go to if I need to troubleshoot something, or just need a different perspective on things; having people I can easily email and reach out to and say, 'Hey, how would you solve this?' Or 'What are your thoughts on this' type of thing."
Today, David is co-chair of the INTIX Mentor Program, helping link professionals with experts who can offer guidance and perspective. He has also served elsewhere at INTIX, including a stint as chair of the Professional Development Grant Committee.
"Right now, I'm helping people find peers they can talk to if they have a problem, so connecting people," he says. "Previously, I've done grants, which help people go to the INTIX conference so they can learn and bring that knowledge back to their organization, and hopefully get it into their budget for next year so they can come regularly in future years."
David has attended every INTIX conference since 2019, spoken at several and volunteered in other capacities. Beyond INTIX, he was part of the leadership team that helped revive DMVRTA, the Washington, D.C. regional ticketing group, after the pandemic. It has since grown to more than 150 members.
INTIX also provides valuable networking opportunities and helps David keep up with an ever-changing industry. Access articles and news on legislation help him stay informed, while conversations with other ticketing professionals give him a sense of what colleagues are seeing across organizations and genres. That perspective has been particularly useful as fraud has become a bigger issue in recent years.
"I'd say everyone's dealing with [fraud], and having that reminder that you're not alone in this, that other people are dealing with it, too, at different levels, [is very helpful]," he says.
That combination of leadership, service and his work over many years helped earn David the 2026 True Tickets Young Ticketing Professional Award. His nominator highlighted David's efforts to improve the guest and donor experience, including implementing online cross-show exchanges for members, as well as the way he works with his staff.
"I regularly ask my team, 'What can we do better?' As the eyes and ears on the front lines, their insights are essential in identifying both operational inefficiencies and opportunities for growth," Damerell said in support of his nomination. "I make it a priority to listen actively to their feedback and take strategic action, whether it is addressing one-off situations or tackling systemic issues that require deeper investigation."
David speaks warmly as he recalls sitting in the audience at INTIX 2026 in Las Vegas when Matt Zarracina, co-founder and CEO of True Tickets, began describing the award recipient.
"[I thought], 'Oh, that sounds like me!' And then he said my name and I was like, 'Oh, it is me!'"
David holding the 2026 True Tickets Young Ticketing Professional Award.
Winning the award, David says, has been the greatest achievement of his professional career to date. Personally, however, there's another achievement that means even more to him: starting a family.
David and his wife, Jessica, have a 16-month-old son, Evan. Much of his time outside work revolves around his family, whether it is taking walks and hikes around their neighborhood with Rudy, their four-year-old Cockapoo, or simply spending time together at home. David says Rudy, who they got as a puppy, has adjusted well to his new role as a big brother.
Rudy the Cockapoo.
"He's really enjoying all the food that Evan is dropping on the floor. He knows now that whenever my son is eating, to sit underneath his chair and he's going to get all the food now."
Family also plays an important role in the values David carries with him. He names his father as the person he most admires, describing him as someone he can always turn to when he needs to talk through a problem. Asked what he values most in others, David gives a simple answer: kindness.
"Treat people the way you would want to be treated," he says.
Along with his family, David points to his faith in Jesus Christ when talking about what gives him the most joy and meaning in life.
That emphasis on kindness carries into the workplace. David appreciates colleagues who work hard and are open to feedback and collaboration. In a leader, he values someone who truly listens rather than simply hearing what people have to say.
"Receiving feedback, and actually hearing the feedback, is one of the things I look for in a leader. Not being dismissive if you hear a different way of doing things. My boss, Bernie Berry, is very good at that, taking an idea I have for one of my colleagues, and he'll say, 'Let's run with this to see what it would look like, and mock it up.'"
With friends, that same openness sometimes takes a more direct form.
"Being there for me is important, and honesty. Also, calling me out if I'm being an idiot. I have friends that do that. They'll just say, 'You're being an idiot,'" David says, confirming that yes, they do use that exact word. "But it's delivered with love."
Life as a new dad has also changed how David spends his time away from work.
"When I have spare time, I play a lot of sports. I play on a church softball team, and we also play pickup basketball. I play softball [as a new dad], but basketball, not as much anymore."
What would make balancing work, family and everything else easier? David immediately says, "more energy," joking that he would like to be an "Energizer Bunny," with enough vigor to give his very best at work and still have plenty left for his family.
If he were granted three wishes today, what would they be?
"I would say more time in the day to spend with my family would be one. An unlimited travel budget would be another one. And then, never being stuck in traffic. Being in the Washington, D.C. area, you always get caught in traffic at certain points of the day."
When he does find time for sports, music and travel, many of David's interests remain rooted in the Washington, D.C., area. He grew up in Fairfax, Virginia, and now lives in Reston, about 10 minutes from Wolf Trap. His family bought Washington Nationals season tickets when the team moved to the city in 2005, but one game stands out.
"I went to one of the 2019 World Series games where the Nationals played. It had always been a bucket-list item for me to go to a World Series game, and the fact that the Nationals were playing made it even better. Unfortunately, they lost. That was the weird World Series where the home team lost every game on both sides. Going to a World Series game was definitely one of the best live events I've ever been to."
David and Jessica attending a Washington Nationals World Series game.
His favorite live-event venue is even closer to home: the Filene Center at Wolf Trap.
"It's a 7,000-seat amphitheater, but it doesn't feel like that," he says. "It feels more like it is 2,000 to 3,000 at times … Even if you're way in the back, you still feel pretty close to the artist. I've seen a lot of good shows here over my five years, too."
Of the many shows he has seen there, the Avett Brothers are a favorite. His favorite band, however, sits on the opposite end of the musical spectrum.
"My favorite band is Muse. They're a power rock band that's very guitar-forward," he says. "They are always very energetic. I've seen them live a few times, and the set design and all that stuff that goes on with their shows is amazing. My favorite song by Muse is 'Knights of Cydonia.'"
If he could live anywhere, David would choose the mountains of West Virginia.
"I recently took a trip to Afton, Virginia. It's right outside Charlottesville in the mountains," he reminisces. "It's really pretty out there, but you're close enough to a city to do fun stuff, like concerts."
New York City is a favorite place to visit.
"Being in D.C., it's an easy two-hour train ride to get to New York. I'm a big foodie, so I love eating good food, and New York has a plethora of good options. I would say Japanese and Korean are up there for me, and if I'm going for more fine dining, French."
Jessica, Evan and David in New York City.
He also has a hobby that might surprise anyone who knows him primarily through ticketing.
"I'm a big bourbon collector. It's one of my other hobbies," he says. "I like good bourbon [and] going out to places and finding decent bottles to purchase. My friends and I sometimes go on road trips to find different bottles that are harder to find in my state but are sometimes easier in Maryland or Pennsylvania."
Looking back on the winding path that eventually brought him to a full-time career in ticketing, David knows what he would tell the younger version of himself who worried he was falling behind: "Be patient. You'll get where you need to go. Getting out of college, I was rushing to do a lot of things, and I always thought, oh, I'm behind, I'm behind, I'm behind. I was comparing myself to other people [in that I was] behind in life stages."
His own experience has also shown him how much the people met along the way can matter. It is one reason he encourages others in the ticketing community to get involved and build those connections for themselves.
"I always try to push people to get more involved in INTIX, to join or chair a committee. I think it's a big thing. INTIX keeps running through the involvement of the people within the organization, so I would say get involved."
After all, one of those connections helped launch David's career, which he continues to grow while giving back.
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