Brad Yochum Founder
A specialist beats a generalist when the software is the whole ballgame. That's why I founded Focus for Nonprofits. I wanted a niche business focused solely on QuickBooks rather than a general practice that treated it as one item on a long menu. Most small to medium size businesses use QuickBooks. Once I saw that clearly, given my background and expertise, building a company around those needs was the only move that made sense to me.
My training came from two places. I hold an undergraduate business degree from California State University, Fullerton, with an emphasis in Finance, and an MBA in Accounting from Baker College, Michigan. The finance side of that education shapes how I look at where a business is heading. The accounting side shapes how the past can help guide the future.
In my spare time I volunteer with Make A Wish Foundation fulfilling wishes.
My favorite bands: Elvis Presley, Train, Duran Duran, Garth Brooks
David Griffin Senior Client Advisor
When a new client comes aboard, I learn the business as well as the books. That's the only way I know to hand someone accurate information. Anything odd in the records gets researched until I understand it, and client questions get the same treatment. I also want people to understand what I'm doing and why, because bookkeeping that only makes sense to the bookkeeper isn't worth much.
I spent 27 years with home health and hospice numbers before coming to Focus for Nonprofits to use my accounting skills in new ways. My degree in Business Administration and Accounting is from Cal State Fullerton.
Orange County was home my whole life until my wife Janet and I relocated to western New York state in 2022. Married over 30 years, she is my partner in all things, travel included. Our favorite trips are cruises and Angels games at ballparks around the country. We have two children, Jessica and Douglas.
Outside activities: Reading, watching baseball, and spending time with family.
Favorite Artist: John Williams Quote: "The mistake is not making the mistake, the mistake is not catching the mistake".
Rebecca Lewis Client Specialist
As a little girl I loved playing "bank." It fits that bookkeeping became my profession. I've used QuickBooks for over 20 years. I'm proficient in both QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online, and I move between them without much fuss. Clients on either one get the same attention.
I love clean books. Every account should reconcile down to the penny. A month isn't finished until it does. That standard is what makes the numbers usable when a client has a decision to make, and it keeps me from untangling the same mess twice.
The heart of Orange County, California is where I was born and raised. In 2013 my family and I moved to Nashville, Tennessee. I'm a wife and a mom to 3 kiddos. When I'm not working, I'm a wanna be baker and a sunset hunter.
Favorite Bands: Jack Johnson, Josh Groban and Blake Shelton
Seth Soon Client Specialist
Face to face with a bear and a moose in Wyoming is still the most memorable hiking I've done, and it stays with me because it reminds me there's a bigger world outside the cities where I spend most of my time. That hike was part of a 20 day camping road trip my best friend and I took one college summer to see six national parks: the Grand Canyon, Zion, Yellowstone, Glacier, Banff, and the Grand Tetons. I enjoyed the people we met as much as the parks. Hiking, eating, and movies fill my spare time.
Accounting interests me because it's the language of business, and I like seeing how people turn the dream of owning a company into action. My degree in Accounting is from the Mihaylo College of Business at Cal State Fullerton. Tutoring privately from high school through college taught me that one thing can be explained in many ways.
Favorite Bands/Artists: Porter Robinson, Frank Sinatra and The Foo Fighters
Simone Pielenz Accountant
Germany is where I was born, and since then I've lived in several states across the United States. I speak three languages fluently, and explaining financial statements has turned out to be another kind of translation. My Master's degree in Management is from UT Dallas, and I'm a Certified Management Accountant (CMA).
I've used QuickBooks for many years and have 15 years of accounting and business operations experience with small and medium-sized businesses. What keeps me interested is the story the numbers tell about a company. I want my clients to understand where they stand and where they could be going, in language that means something to them.
Away from the numbers, I play beach volleyball, practice yoga, hike, and ski. My partner is Argentinian, and whenever we can we are off exploring another part of the world together.
Ethan Yochum Analyst
Most of what I do for Focus for Nonprofits sits behind the screen. I work on the firm's websites and its search visibility, and I built the phone assistant that answers calls and passes along messages when the team is with clients. The work suits me because it lands between marketing and operations, and both sides have to hold up for any of it to be worth doing.
At UCLA I'm majoring in Business Economics with a minor in Entrepreneurship, and I'll finish in the fall of 2026. I also spent a term studying at University of Madrid. Outside of class I build trading and automation systems to streamline manual processes. Whatever job I have when I grow up, I hope it lets me support my family and enjoy my career.
Quote: When you can't find the sunshine, be the sunshine! Favorite Bands: Electronic Dance Music or anything 80's
