Van was elected as a Director of Rossmoor/Los Alamitos Area Sewer District in 2012. He is licensed Civil Engineer working in the water resources field, where is involved in the planning, design, construction, and operation of drinking water distribution systems, water treatment facilities, and recycled water distribution systems. He also oversees the water quality department and is certified by the State of California as both a water distribution operator and a water treatment operator. He also previously worked as a consultant, where he performed sewer system master planning and sewer system modeling. He holds bachelor degrees in both Civil Engineering and Economics and is an alumni of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.