Charlie Michaud, Principal and Managing Director at CCS, brings more than 27 years of professional fundraising experience to the clients we serve. Based now in New York City after 15 years in the UK and Ireland, Charlie’s career spans working in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Charlie’s counsel has helped our clients raise more than $1 billion worldwide to advance important causes including: education, food security, global health, human rights, international relief and development, medical research, and poverty eradication. His areas of expertise includes campaign design and management, corporate partnerships, and mobilizing resources from governments.

Charlie has provided strategic counsel and high-level coaching to senior executives, board members, philanthropists and government officials. He has trained fundraising volunteers across diverse cultures and regularly presents on fundraising trends and best practices.

Edward Van Saders leads Financial Operations and Business Strategy for CCS. Edward has 30 years of experience in leadership roles across a broad range of start-ups, global media companies, and nonprofits. In this role, Edward oversees all financial functions.

Prior to joining CCS, Edward was the Chief Strategy Officer of a portfolio of privately owned media assets, leading finance, corporate development, and administration for 12 years. Previously, he served as Chief Financial Officer of AccuWeather, the digital brand Heavy.com, and the environmental media company EcoMedia (subsequently sold to CBS). Earlier in his career, he held financial leadership positions at NBC-Universal, News Corporation, and the Jim Henson Company.

Edward holds a BFA and a certificate in nonprofit management from Marymount Manhattan College where he currently serves on the Board of Trustees. Edward resides in Rockland County and Cape Cod with his family, including triplet daughters.

In her current role, Lauren Handwerker works closely with the executive team and firm leadership to advance firmwide initiatives with a focus on strategy development and growth planning efforts. Lauren previously managed talent acquisition and works closely with the HR team. She spent the first several years of her career at CCS in client services working as a Director with clients across all sectors.

Lauren received her MBA from NYU Stern and holds a bachelor’s degree from Brown University. She serves on the Board of the New York chapter of Women in Development (WiD). Lauren resides in Westport, CT with her husband and daughter.

Adam Miller provides leadership and strategic guidance to the nonprofit sector, designing innovative fundraising initiatives, directing extraordinary campaigns, and advising on resource development models.

Partnering with organizations ranging from $1m to $100m+ in annual philanthropic revenue, Adam helps design tailored revenue growth strategies, optimize resource allocation, and implement programmatic initiatives.

Adam has provided guidance on various development functions and strategies both nationally and internationally and across all nonprofit sectors. He is an expert in board engagement, growth and sustainability planning, campaign methodology, principal and major gift strategies, organizational design, corporate partnerships, change management, complex gifts and planned giving, interim development management, data analytics and modeling, development assessments, feasibility and planning studies, and post campaign strategies, among others.

Adam serves as a CCS Learning Facilitator, has presented at national and international conferences, and has been published in journals and business publications. In 2020, the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) recognized Adam as a 40 Under 40 Leader. Outside of his work, Adam personally serves on several nonprofit boards and committees.

Prior to CCS, Adam practiced as an attorney counseling individual and business clients on employment and commercial matters, and helped secure two record-breaking jury verdicts. Adam earned a JD from Loyola University Chicago and a BA from Indiana University. Adam resides in Columbus, OH with his wife and two children.

Kate Villa has been helping to design, plan, and implement successful fundraising campaigns since she worked for Columbia University’s development office while in college. She truly enjoys creating and executing fundraising initiatives that connect donors’ passions with projects that change the world. Kate’s 25 years of experience, first as a chief development officer and now with CCS, have included: comprehensive campaign design and management, planning studies, assessments, and leading teams of staff and volunteer leadership to develop unique strategies and solutions to achieve ambitious fundraising goals.

Kate graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy and Columbia College. She is the Immediate Past President of AFP Massachusetts, a former Vice-Chair of the Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center, and the past President of AFP of Northern New England. When not working or volunteering for good causes, she can often be found trying new recipes or restaurants, skiing in her native state of Vermont, training for a long bike ride, or with friends and family.

Select Client Partners

  • American School for the Deaf
  • Bangor Public Library
  • Boston Latin School
  • Bridge Over Troubled Waters
  • Buckingham, Browne & Nichols School
  • Combined Jewish Philanthropies
  • Champlain College
  • Green Mountain Valley School
  • Kimball Union Academy
  • Maine Audubon
  • The New Commonwealth Fund
  • New Hampton School
  • Newton Wellesley Hospital
  • The Rashi School
  • USS Constitution Museum
  • Walnut Hill School for the Arts
  • The Winsor School

Sarah (Schmall) Sochacki has been with CCS for a decade. Having spent nearly her entire professional career in fundraising, Sarah continues to be drawn to philanthropy, believing that this field has the power to solve some of the most complex challenges in the world. She feels privileged that her profession enables her to help find these solutions and give back in a meaningful way.

Sarah is a lifelong learner and constantly reflects on her current and previous engagements to ensure the latest insights are carried from one partnership to the next. She begins any engagement by first immersing herself in the organization – its people, goals, past fundraising activities, and more – to become an expert and in turn, provide the most value to each of her client partners.

As Managing Director, Sarah leads a variety of partnerships across the Central U.S. In her time at CCS, she has executed campaign planning studies, facilitated multi-million-dollar campaigns, directed development assessments and trainings, and coached development staff and volunteers through securing transformational gifts. With an expertise in case development and transformational gifts, Sarah is committed to crafting stories that marry resource development with each organization’s mission, financial needs, near-term goals, and long-term strategic vision.

As part of her continued commitment to philanthropy, Sarah has served as a guest lecturer at the University of Mary. Sarah is also a frequent speaker at CCS’s firmwide, sector-, and region-specific webinars.

Sarah holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Science in Fundraising Management from Columbia University. A Chicago resident, Sarah enjoys spending her free time rooting for all things Fighting Irish, teaching her dog, Fred, new tricks, attempting to cook, and participating in the occasional 5k fun run.

select client partners

  • St. Paul Academy and Summit School
  • YMCA of the North
  • Aim Higher Foundation
  • Totino Grace High School
  • Erikson Institute
  • Diocese of Green Bay
  • Archdiocese of Milwaukee
  • Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design
  • Ascension Wisconsin Foundations

Natalie joined CCS in 2011 and has served clients spanning education, faith-based, human service, arts and culture, healthcare, international, environment, public media, and association sectors. She has conducted numerous capital campaigns, feasibility and planning studies, development assessments, annual fund enhancements, strategic plans, and special development projects. Natalie has served as Counsel on campaigns that have cumulatively raised more than $1 billion, including multiple $100 million gifts.

Natalie serves on the Client Services Committee of the CCS Board of Directors. She facilitates training courses for CCS Directors, presents fundraising sessions for AFP, TABS, SAIS, FCIS, VAIS, AISGW, AIMS, AMCSUS, and a variety of conferences, and has chaired CCS’s Recruitment Committee. She was recognized for her work in CCS’s Mid- and South-Atlantic Region with the Dennick M. W. Skeels Memorial Award in 2015. Natalie recently concluded a four-year term on the Board Executive Committee of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) DC Chapter. Natalie graduated cum laude from University of Delaware with an Honors Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. Natalie resides in Reston, VA with her husband and two sons.

Select Client Partners

  • American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
  • Archdiocese of Baltimore
  • Bermuda High School for Girls
  • Georgetown Day School
  • Inova Health System
  • Jhpiego
  • KIPP Baltimore
  • Loyola University Maryland
  • National Black Caucus of State Legislators
  • National Museum of Bermuda
  • National Public Radio (NPR)
  • Paralyzed Veterans of America
  • Peddie School
  • Richmond Symphony
  • Royal Institute of Law of the Kingdom of Bhutan
  • Salem Academy and College
  • Sidwell Friends School
  • Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture
  • UNCF (United Negro College Fund)
  • United Way of Central Maryland
  • Volunteers of America
  • West Virginia State University
  • YWCA USA

In over 12 years with CCS, Aashika has supported clients with financial targets totaling over $1 billion. Guided by measurable, actionable plans, Aashika leverages fundraising strategy, data analytics, staffing assessments, pipeline development, and leadership engagement to grow fundraising capacity for nonprofits across every philanthropic sector.

Aashika’s approach to client support is anchored in consensus building at all levels. Aiming to architect fundraising solutions that address both a short-term, urgent need for funding as well as a long-term goal of financial sustainability, Aashika builds and organizes dynamic teams of fundraising professionals. People are the greatest resource at both CCS and within the nonprofit sector, investing in people is investing in progress.

Aashika cultivates great interest and expertise in case visioning, pre-campaign and planning studies, post-campaign assessments, Advancement audits, landscape analysis, major gift pipeline qualification, major and planned gift campaigns, endowment fundraising, as well as leadership recruitment and training.

A graduate of Syracuse University in both Philosophy and South Asian Studies, Aashika also earned a MS in Fundraising and Grantmaking from New York University (NYU). She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Jesal, and serves on the board of the Cayton Children’s Museum.

select client partners

  • California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, CA
  • University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego), San Diego, CA
  • University of San Diego, (USD), San Diego, CA
  • Cal Poly Humboldt, Arcata, CA
  • Holocaust Museum Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
  • Cayton Children’s Museum by ShareWell, Los Angeles, CA
  • Direct Relief, Santa Barbara, CA
  • TGR Foundation, Irvine, CA
  • San Diego Foundation, San Diego, CA
  • Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Beverly Hill, CA
  • Chandler School, Pasadena, CA
  • Flintridge Preparatory School, Pasadena, CA
  • Curtis School, Los Angeles, CA

Lindsey manages CCS’s Central United States operations team out of the Chicago office. She serves as a member of the region’s executive leadership and provides dedicated focus to propelling our firm’s growth mindset. In her daily work, she partners with leaders across the region and firm to identify and implement strategic initiatives related to business development, recruitment, talent management, communications, and other operational priorities. 

Lindsey also partners on select client engagements, leveraging her skills in communications, creative messaging, data analysis, staffing, and overall fundraising planning as well as a passion for service stemming from her training as a social worker. 

Lindsey has dedicated her career to supporting nonprofit causes. She strongly believes in the power of philanthropy in advancing missions and ultimately transforming communities. “The impact of nonprofit organizations on our society is undeniable,” says Lindsey. “It is a privilege to help drive the operations of a firm so committed to continuously elevating this important work.” 

Lindsey received her master’s degree from the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice and a bachelor’s degree from University of Miami. She was raised in a small town outside of Kansas City, Missouri and now lives in the western suburbs of Chicago with her husband, son, and a house full of pets. 

Select Client Partners

  • DuPage Foundation
  • Northwestern Memorial Foundation
  • Northern Illinois Food Bank
  • Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Louisiana
  • University of Texas at Austin

Sarah Krasin is the Managing Director and executive in charge of CCS’s Boston office, where she oversees client partnerships and the firm’s operations across New England.

Since joining the firm in 2012, Sarah’s client engagements have spanned all major nonprofit sectors and included capital campaign management, campaign planning studies, major gift program development, strategic planning, interim development management, and other specialized development projects, audits, and assessments. Her knowledge of the national philanthropic landscape includes direct experience designing and managing fundraising initiatives for clients across the country, with goals ranging from $3 million to $1 billion.

Sarah is the co-founder of CCS Elevate, the firm’s thought leadership initiative designed to apply CCS best practices to the next big questions in philanthropy. She is also a member of the firm’s Healthcare Advisory Practice.

Prior to joining CCS, Sarah managed and consulted for more than 20 political fundraising programs in the Midwest and Southern California. During her time in politics, Sarah coached candidates for local, state, and federal offices on effective fundraising strategies that allowed them to out-raise incumbents and win highly contested seats.

Select client partners

  • Boston Children’s Hospital
  • The Boston Foundation
  • Bridge Over Troubled Waters
  • Celebrity Series of Boston
  • Crocker Art Museum
  • Crossroads Rhode Island
  • The Dimock Center
  • Handel + Haydn Society
  • Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF)
  • Maine Maritime Academy
  • National Coast Guard Museum
  • National Women’s Hall of Fame
  • New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund (NCF)
  • Northeastern University
  • Partners In Health
  • Salve Regina University
  • T1D Fund of JDRF International
  • Tufts Medical Center
  • University of Southern Maine
  • VentureWell
  • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution