Dan Tyk (2002) has been a part of the Whitefish Bay community his whole life: as a student, a North Shore Fire Department firefighter, the father of two Whitefish Bay students, the husband of a Cumberland School teacher and a School Board member. He started out at Lydell when it was still a school and not the home of the Recreation Department, as it is today. After going to Middle School at Richards (now one of the two elementary schools in Whitefish Bay), he attended Whitefish Bay High School. In his Junior and Senior years, he had the opportunity through a work/study program to attend classes in the morning and ride along with the North Shore Department as a Cadet in the afternoons. In the evenings, he completed the coursework to become a firefighter and EMT. When he graduated from high school, he worked for the Fire Department while also attending nursing school. He discovered that Whitefish Bay Schools had prepared him well to meet the challenges of work and school. While some of his peers struggled, he drew upon the knowledge and skills he had acquired from his teachers and WFB School programs as well as the support of family, fellow students and the whole community. Dan is celebrating his 20th year with the Fire Department this year.

It was the strength of the community and the schools that led Dan to choose to live in Whitefish Bay when he decided to have a family of his own. Because he wanted to give back to the community and schools that give so much to him and his family, he decided to run for a position on the Whitefish Bay School Board in 2021 and won. He enjoys the strategic planning and long term visioning that Board members are called upon to do. The Whitefish Bay School Board of Education consists of 7 elected community members and meets regularly to work with the School Administrators, teachers, staff and community members to manage budgeting, staffing, teaching and learning, policies and everything else required to maintain the excellence of Whitefish Bay Schools.

Board members also serve on committees. Dan serves as the School Board representative on the Whitefish Bay Public Education (WFBPE) Foundation Board, which is a separate 501(c)3 that exists to support the public schools of Whitefish Bay through the management of an endowment and fundraising through community activities such as the Bay Ball (which Dan fondly remembers his parents attending when he was a kid), Run the Bay, and the Annual Appeal. In 2022, the WFBPE Foundation in conjunction with the WFB Public Schools launched the WFB Blue Duke Nation Alumni and Friends network. Dan is especially happy about the growth of the Alumni network. He stays in touch with his fellow 2002 Classmates, who meet at Homecoming in the fall each year. He hopes to see the network expand to keep the schools, students, alumni and friends connected.