David Naves

Mr. David Naves Biography

Mr. David Naves has a strong desire to encourage our youth to be the best they can be. He believes that with vision, passion, purpose, guidance, and planning, our youth can be successful in all of their endeavors; be it academic, sports, business, or relationships.  Mr. Naves was born and raised on the south side of Chicago.  He had always been passionate about basketball, science, and technology.  Making a living doing any of these would be a dream come true.  That being his vision, he attended Lindblom Technical HS (a STEM school).  His parents as well as teachers and coaches at Lindblom Tech. were phenomenal and provided him the guidance that would shape his future education and business endeavors.   Mr. Naves, a gifted high school basketball player, earned Chicago All-city and Illinois Honorable Mention All-state honors.  Mr. Naves was heavily recruited by some of the top colleges and universities in the country including the University of Iowa, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Kansas and chose to attend and play basketball at Northern Illinois University.  After receiving his Bachelor of Science degree from NIU, Mr. Naves went on to play for the world famous Harlem Globetrotters in 1971-72 performing around the world including Canada, Australia/Tasmania, New Zealand, Fiji, Tahiti, Hawaii, and New Caledonia.   After the Globetrotters, Mr. Naves has held engineering, management, or executive positions with Ford Motor Company/Body Engineering, CSX Rail, Jackson and Tull, and Swales Aerospace.  Mr. Naves holds 3 patents for railcar designs.  He was also the CEO and founder of EG&L Systems, Inc.  He is currently a Director of Engineering and the Deputy Program Manager -Systems Engineering for SGT, Inc.  SGT provides engineering services to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s programs and projects in Greenbelt, MD.   Mr. Naves is also an active member with the National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA).  The mission of the NBRPA is to assist former NBA, ABA, Harlem Globetrotters, and WNBA players in their transition from the playing court into life after the game while also positively impacting communities and youth through basketball.  Passionate about giving back to the community, Mr. Naves has coached and given youth basketball clinics and is actively involved with his church.  He really enjoys speaking to youth about careers in science, engineering, and technology.  Mr. Naves is married and has 3 adult children.  He resides in Bowie, Maryland.