Alumni Highlights

June 2025 – Tricia Katebini ’07, MBA ’08

Tricia Katebini ’07, MBA ’08 is the June Alumni Highlight!

Tricia began her college journey at a university in Indiana, where she majored in vocal performance with a minor in nonprofit management. When her father became ill halfway through the spring semester of her sophomore year, she transferred to Hagerstown Community College (HCC) to be closer to home. She initially chose HCC for its eight-week semesters, which allowed her to keep up with her studies and stay on track to finish the semester.

Since many of her music credits did not transfer, Tricia changed her major to accounting to make graduating with her associate degree more accessible. She quickly fell in love with accounting and developed strong relationships with the faculty in the department. One professor even helped secure her first job before she graduated.

Tricia fully embraced her passion for accounting and decided to further her education by earning a bachelor’s degree. She wanted to attend a university where she could receive personalized attention and build strong connections with faculty, just as she had at HCC, so she chose Shepherd University.

“I loved all of the classes I took,” Tricia said. “Professor Hamood was a wonderful professor, mentor, and ultimately a friend and huge supporter of my career. He saw something in me back then that I didn’t.”

Although she found her calling in accounting, Tricia never lost her passion for music and vocal performance. Thanks to Shepherd, she was able to minor in music and enjoyed singing with the chamber group. Tricia said Shepherd helped her see how her new career complemented her music background by making advanced music theory—one of the most challenging courses in the field—more approachable.

“Music theory and math are so highly correlated that my brain just clicked with it all,” Tricia said.

Tricia loved her time at Shepherd so much that she went on to earn her Master of Business Administration.

Today, Tricia is a full-time certified public accountant (CPA) and auditor with GRF CPAs & Advisors in Bethesda, Maryland, where she serves the nonprofit community.

“This is the greatest fulfillment of all—feeling like you truly connect with your clients, the mission work they do, and helping to continue their mission through compliance work,” Tricia said.

In addition to her role as an audit partner, Tricia co-leads technology vetting, piloting, and implementation for the audit department. She is currently leading a large-scale implementation of a new cloud-based working paper solution.

“I have been dubbed the extroverted CPA,” she explained. “I love to do public speaking engagements and have spoken at several large conferences.”

Tricia has received several professional accolades, including:

The Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA) Max Teichmann Award in 2022
MACPA Woman to Watch: Emerging Leader in 2021
Named to Forbes’ inaugural Best-in-State CPAs list in 2025

Outside her career, Tricia is an avid runner and cyclist and loves being a wife and mother. She also remains deeply engaged in her community. She serves as:

An audit committee member for Recidiviz
A member of the Joint Trial Board for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
A member of the Digital CPA Advisory Board
A member of the conference planning committee for the MACPA Governmental and Nonprofit Conference
A member of the Greater Washington Society of CPAs (GWSPCPA) Women’s Leadership Section Committee
A member of CaseWare’s Client Advisory Board

“Giving back to the community I serve, and advancing the accounting profession to continue the amazing work CPAs do, has always been a driving force and passion in my career,” Tricia said.

Tricia has always kept Shepherd close to her heart and now serves on the Shepherd University Alumni Association Board of Directors.

The Shepherd University Alumni Association celebrates all of the great work Tricia does. Shepherd Students Succeed!

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