What brought you to St Philip’s?
I grew up in the Greek Orthodox Church and my wife, Amanda, was raised in the Roman Catholic Church. But we hadn’t been going to church as a family with our two daughters—and we wanted to be part of a community.

Our friends Kyle and Karen Dresback attended so we thought we’d give Saint Philip’s a shot.

And what was your experience?
We like that it’s traditional but also welcoming to different groups of people and forward thinking. And when we got here everyone was really, really nice. In fact, we would go home and say it must be a cult because everyone was so friendly!

Why is it important to you that your daughters attend church?
We want them to know God and be grounded in a relationship with God. Amanda has talked to me about how important it is for children to meet God when they’re young. It helps to have faith developed at a young age because otherwise logic gets in the way.

What keeps you at Saint Philip’s?
The beautiful service and the friends we’ve made.

What’s important to you about faith?
It helps me to give gratitude for all the blessings we have. It makes a difference for me to understand there is a higher power I can pray to. I also have lifelong friends from having grown up in the church with them.

How do your parents feel about you being part of the Episcopal Church?
My mother grew up a Congregationalist so she enjoys that the service is similar to what she grew up with. My father is happy we found a nice church, and he enjoys the Christmas pageant.

How are you involved at Saint Philip’s?
I’m on the Preservation & Endowment (P&E) Board.

Our daughters attend Vacation Bible School every year and our family has participated in the CYFM retreat at Chapel Rock twice. (Amanda helped plan and organize the most recent one.)

Do you volunteer beyond Saint Philip’s?
I do. A high school and college friend of mine started a nonprofit in 2016 called Empower Coalition.

His first call was to an attorney and then he called me to help with accounting. I really respect the military so I was in. We focus on raising money to help veterans in Southern Arizona.

Where did you grow up?
I’ve been in Tucson all my life. I had summer internships in Chicago and New York but I grew up the street from the church on Campbell Avenue.

What do you do professionally?
I have a tax and accounting firm, Rubyco Concierge Tax & Accounting.

How did that come about?
I always wanted to own a business. I didn’t think it would be this but my childhood friend’s dad, who was my Boy Scout leader and mentor, said I should study accounting. So I did.

The U of A beat it into my head that I should take the CPA exam. So I did—and I passed. I worked two years as an accountant to get my license. I developed some clients and the business grew and grew.

My firm handles work for a lot of restaurants, medical offices, pretty much every kind of business, as well as individual taxes. We’re pretty heavy into real estate issues, too.

What do you enjoy about the work?
I like meeting with clients and identifying strategies for their particular situations. I enjoy spending time on complicated stuff; I solve problems that staff can’t figure out. It’s like working on a jigsaw puzzle very day.

What’s one of your super powers?
I’m an accountant with people skills. I can translate numbers to help clients understand them. I’m good at relating to my clients and having normal conversations with them.

What’s one of your core values?
Hard work.

That comes from my dad. I saw him work hard and encourage us to work hard in school and everything we did. He always said that if I’m struggling with something then I should just work harder. If I don’t know how to do something then just work harder.

What do you do to relax/replenish yourself?
It’s hard for me to relax; I’m not comfortable doing that.

On the weekends I start my Uber shift with the kids chauffeuring them to games or dance classes. But our family does go on vacation and we have dinner with family and friends.

But ultimately I feel better working than I do sitting on the couch worrying about the work waiting for me. I think I relax when I know my work is done.

What gets better as you get older?
It’s not my eyes. I’ve started using readers!

I think appreciating the now—being more present—and not always looking forward.

Amanda helps with that a lot. The kids are growing up fast and she forces me to take vacations that I wouldn’t have done on my own. The work will always be there and Amanda helps me realize I have to enjoy this time now.

What do you look forward to when you retire?
I’m 47 so I have awhile but I look forward to not being at the mercy of emails. Even when I’m on vacation I know they’ll be waiting for me if I don’t monitor them.

What’s a life lesson you keep being invited to learn?
That my answers might work for me but that doesn’t mean they’ll work for others. I don’t have all the answers.

What’s something you’re proud of?
I’m proud of our family, Amanda, and how wonderful our girls are.

What’s something you’re grateful for?
My wife, our kids, my health, and great parents.

What’s something you know now that your younger self didn’t?
As a young person I thought understanding the world was just a matter of time until I could figure it out. I thought I could work through the complexities.

But I’ve learned that the world is more complicated than I imagined as a young person. And sometimes it’s unfair and not everyone has the same opportunities to work through troubles. I’m now aware that not everyone has the same opportunities I was given.

What’s one of your guiding principles?
Just show up and figure it out.

What do friends say they appreciate about you?
They tell me they like that I’m steady and drama-free.

What’s something you find challenging?
Asking for money. I can talk numbers all day but I’m not a fan of making sales pitches. I can do it but I’m also very happy to turn that over to someone else.

Your family lives on a farm. How is that?
It’s beautiful. I get a different feeling when I pull onto the property.

It’s nice to have the privacy and the kids have lots of space. They have a go-cart they ride around in, and around Christmas we went on a horseback ride. During the summer we shoot bows and arrows and BB guns.

What’s something you haven’t done that you’d still like to?
I want to go on a hot air balloon ride. And I want to get a dirt bike.

Do you have a mantra—something that helps steady you when things get wonky?
Slow down and be patient. I remind myself not to lose my cool because that’s when mistakes happen.

I’ve been told that sometimes I slow down so much that the decision gets made without me!

Where have you traveled recently?
We just got back from Disneyland and we took the girls to New York City not too long ago. Over the summer we did a road trip through the six New England states.

We’ve also been to Croatia, France, England, Mexico, and the Netherlands.

What’s a fun fact about you?
I became an Eagle Scout when I was 15 years old. I had to earn 21 badges and go through six ranks.

What motivated you to do that?
My parents said I couldn’t drive until I earned it. But I did enjoy it. We had great hikes, summer camps, and there were six of us who made it through together.