Shawn began his career working as a Mental Health Worker at Butler Hospital (Providence, RI) and served as the Director of Confirmation Retreats and Youth Ministry at his home parish, Immaculate Conception Church (Cranston, RI). Subsequently, he spent nearly eight years as the Director of Admissions and Communications at Saint Raphael Academy (Pawtucket, RI).
As a Senior Vice President with CCS, he leads capital campaigns, major gift efforts, development programs and operations, feasibility and planning studies, and organizational assessments. He partners with clients to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward major individual, corporate, and foundation donors; create compelling cases for support and related donor communications; recruit, train, and manage volunteer leadership at the board/c-suite level; and design plans to meet target goals and outcomes among other responsibilities.
Shawn currently serves on the Advisory Board of Saint Raphael Academy (Pawtucket, RI). He resides in West Orange, NJ with his wife, Tracy, and their daughters, Sloane and Quinn. He has a passion for technology, music, theater, and design. Shawn is also a classically trained singer and has performed in many choirs, musicals, and plays.
Select Client Partners
- Archbishop Molloy High School
- Archdiocese of Cincinnati
- Catholic Charities of Long Island
- Diocese of Brooklyn – Catholic Foundation of Brooklyn & Queens
- Diocese of Bridgeport
- Diocese of Rochester
- Fontbonne Hall Academy
- Order of Malta American Association
- Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women
- Portsmouth Abbey School
- Rome Health
- St. Thomas More Catholic Center and Chapel at Yale
- The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk
Vann Ellen Mitchell, Senior Vice President, joined CCS in 2014 with a unique blend of experience in capital, endowment, and comprehensive campaigns, leadership gift fundraising, Case for Support development, grant writing, volunteer management, and prospect research. An expert in healthcare and higher-ed fundraising, Vann strives to bring high levels of innovation and creativity to her client partnerships to ensure a customized and unique strategies that accelerate activity in new ways.
Vann’s dedication to tailored client service is evident in her work through a recent major university campaign with targeted national donor strategy and messaging, her management of a team of ten staff across South Carolina raising $70,000,000+, and consistent awareness of client needs and the ability to pivot. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vann developed and launched the S.E.C.U.R.E. Program that increased offertory by 254% in five (5) weeks. Over 2020 and 2021, this program was implemented in ten (10) total dioceses salvaging millions of dollars in offertory nationwide.
In addition to her work with CCS, Vann serves as an Advisory Board Member for Florida International University’s Business Women in Leadership Program, as well as an Alumni Board Member for Cary Academy in North Carolina.
Vann received her MA from Carnegie Mellon University and her BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She loves being outdoors, playing golf, and cheering on her UNC Tar Heels in college basketball. Vann and her husband, Matt, currently reside in Tampa, FL.
Select client partners
- Broward Health (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
- Catholic Diocese of Charleston (Charleston, SC)
- Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA)
- Hagerstown Community College (Hagerstown, MD)
- Howard University (Washington, DC)
- National Museum of Bermuda
- Roland Park Country School (Baltimore, MD)
- Univ. of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center (La Plata, MD)
- Univ. of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center (Towson, MD)
- Woodruff Arts Center (Atlanta, GA)
Steven Picciano has partnered with mission-driven organizations across the sectors of religion, higher education, healthcare, and social services to design and implement transformational fundraising initiatives. He has directed successful fundraising campaigns with goals ranging from $5 million to $250 million.
Steven’s areas of expertise include feasibility and planning studies, campaign management, fundraising communications, and board recruitment. He has a passion for developing compelling case narratives, engaging philanthropic volunteers, and soliciting major gifts.
Raised in New Jersey, Steven attended Delbarton School in Morristown, N.J., before studying government at Georgetown University and Seton Hall University. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and he is a member of the Advisory Board of the Neonatal Comfort Care Program at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. He resides in Nutley, N.J., with his wife, Juliette, and their three sons.
select client partners
- Archdiocese of New York
- Diocese of Bridgeport
- Divine Word Missionaries
- Saint Rose of Lima Church (Newtown, CT)
- Seton Hall University
- The Basilica of Saint John the Evangelist (Stamford, CT)
- The University of Scranton
