Dan Tritch’s resume boasts professional experiences from all over the country, including notable stops in classrooms and at Your Part-Time Controller, LLC—twice.
Dan grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and studied business at Indiana University. As a post-graduate, he worked in Indianapolis and Boston until he found himself as an associate at YPTC’s Philadelphia office in 2013.
Then, he left after six months to pursue a career in education, a difficult decision he says that he couldn’t have made without the support of YPTC’s executive team.
“I’m passionate about education, and I’m very thankful that everyone [at YPTC] was so understanding of me leaving for that, and leaving so quickly, because it really changed the way that I view things, and I wouldn’t trade that for the world,” he elaborated.
Dan spent the next two years teaching through Teach for America at Imhotep Charter High School in North Philadelphia. After relocating back to Indiana and a brief post in a public school there, he made another difficult decision to leave the education sector entirely and revisit his path in accounting.
A foray into various finance roles and a spontaneous move to Arizona placed the puzzle pieces together for Dan’s return to YPTC. Ultimately, the parallels between his experience in education and the strength of YPTC’s positive culture are what brought him back.
On the similarities, he stated, “No organization, and certainly no classroom, can exist without a strong culture and that’s what drew me back. The culture, and specifically the culture of actually caring about employees, defines a very successful organization and that’s what I want to be a part of. It’s just like teaching; caring about your students is what makes them want to work for you and what makes them work hard and succeed.”
Upon entering his current role as a Manager and leader of YPTC’s Phoenix office, Dan’s main responsibility was to make sure the office’s Managers, Associates, and Staff Accountants were happy—a doctrine that spoke volumes to him.
So, he pulled from his past as an educator, and YPTC’s guiding principles, and fostered an environment of balance, autonomy, and trust. With Dan’s unique style of leadership, the YPTC team and the Phoenix-area nonprofits they assist have mutually flourished.
Now, Phoenix is home to 14 staff members and serves 54 clients, with both figures continuing to grow due to the symbiotic rapport built between the two.
One example of this special staff-client relationship is that of a century-old nonprofit that provides important services for Phoenix’s diverse community. When Manager Deanna Peterson took this particular organization on as a client, they were in crisis. If they collapsed, its charter school, adult education programs, and job placement services in four areas of Phoenix would subsequently disappear. After the implementation of a personalized, extensive financial strategy by Deanna, the nonprofit was clearing payroll by $10,000 every week. Dan credits this turnaround to Deanna’s exceptional levels of empathy and diligence.
“It was gratifying to watch [Deanna and the team] work. This 100-year-old organization went from having its federal and state funds frozen for non-compliance to having millions in the bank now. So, even though I wasn’t directly involved, I saw how incredible the people we hire are,” he said.
The success of Phoenix’s staff, and the strength that they imbue organizations with, proves just how well Dan articulates YPTC’s culture out west. And because of his opportunity to do this, he has no plans to leave.
Regarding what excites him most about a future with YPTC, Dan remarked, “The nonprofit space is constantly changing, and it’s fun because I know that YPTC will change with it. There’s so much change going on, but I know that we’re going to be at the forefront, and that’s amazing to me.”
