Having served this year as the treasurer for the Sophomore Class Council and as a member of the Yale College Council’s Events Committee, Daniel Tovbin ’17 said he hopes to use his experience in finance and budget management as the YCC’s next finance director.

Tovbin said that his primary responsibility as treasurer this year has been allocating the sophomore class’s funds across various SoCo events. He said he plans to merge this budget knowledge with his experience working with both SoCo and events committee representatives as finance director.

“I don’t have trouble making tough decisions,” Tovbin said. “I was able to realistically approve budgets for different committees as SoCo treasurer, and in the YCC, I would take a very realistic approach.”

As the optional student activities fee, which accounts for two-thirds of the YCC’s budget, increases from $75 to $125 next year, Tovbin said, he would aim to raise budget allocations for student organizations and club sports. According to Tovbin, currently roughly 50 percent of the YCC’s budget is allocated for student organizations and club sports.

Tovbin said that raising funds in these two areas, coupled with the SAF increase, would allow more money to be directed to student activities without detracting from other YCC events, such as Spring Fling.

Tovbin also expressed interest in engaging in work related to the University’s financial aid and mental health policies, especially given the student body’s calls for reform in these two areas.

Though the finance director typically does not contribute to financial aid initiatives, Tovbin said he would like to work as a liaison between the student body and the YCC to the administration, working on committees directly involved in deciding financial aid initiatives and policies. He added that he would like to designate YCC funds for mental health initiatives in consultation with other YCC members.

Current YCC Finance Director Connor Feeley ’16 said his experiences working with Tovbin to discuss budget allocations between the YCC and SoCo have been very positive. He added that Tovbin “has been diligent in how he has approached SoCo’s budget this year.”

“It is also worth mentioning that this SoCo has been very successful,” Feeley added. “One characteristic of Daniel’s that I think would serve him well [as YCC finance director] is his ability to approach budgetary decisions realistically, and to project conservatively where appropriate.”

According to Feeley, Tovbin’s focus on connecting the responsibilities of YCC finance director with policy initiatives is a constructive approach to the position.

“Although managing flows of money doesn’t necessarily intersect with policy explicitly, it’s helpful to be able to contextualize those money flows in the broader mission of the YCC,” Feeley said.

JED FINLEY