Contact Us

Type: Regional Leadership

Elizabeth joined CCS in 2013 and brings deep experience in the education, healthcare, and religious sectors. She has conducted strategic planning and operational assessments, led high performing fundraising teams, and managed major campaigns across the country that have raised more than $750 million. Finding joy in teamwork with clients, Elizabeth brings a combination of skilled project management and high-level strategic guidance to each partnership.

Elizabeth earned her BA from Emory University and MBA/MTS from Vanderbilt University. She recently returned home to Nashville with her husband and two spaniel pups, after living in Chicago, IL, San Francisco, CA, and Sandpoint, IDover the years. They love spending time outdoors hiking, camping, & kayaking, and volunteering for their local parks.

Select Client Partners

  • University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
  • Antioch University, Yellow Springs, OH
  • Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, Center City, MN
  • Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, Palo Alto, CA
  • PeaceHealth, Vancouver, WA
  • Hennepin Healthcare Foundation, Minneapolis, MN
  • Archdiocese of Chicago, Chicago, IL
  • Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
  • Diocese of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK
  • Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, Chicago, IL
  • The Bush School, Seattle, WA
  • College Prep, Oakland, CA
  • St. Philip & St. Augustine Catholic Academy, Dallas, TX
  • Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes, Appleton, WI
  • Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, Detroit, MI
  • Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati, OH

Matt joined CCS in 2019 and has spent much of his professional career in the fundraising and non-profit space. Matt is drawn to the power of philanthropy to address some of today’s most complex and pressing issues in the US and around the world.

At CCS, Matt has lead projects with fundraising goals in excess of $600 million across all sectors. Matt’s expertise lies in campaign management, development assessments, major and principal gift strategies, volunteer engagement, data analytics, and capacity building. Matt’s goal with every client engagement is to elevate the organization’s capacity to support its mission through philanthropy.
Matt is a Canadian/American dual citizen and has spent time living in Europe. He brings a global perspective to his work and has experience working with various international organizations.

Matt holds a Master of Arts from University College London and a Bachelor of Arts from Centre College.

With roots spread across the country, Matt now calls Durham, NC home. He enjoys any opportunity to learn something new and exploring North Carolina’s natural spaces.

Select Client Partners

  • Lions Clubs International
  • Minnesota Public Radio | American Public Media
  • Soles4Souls
  • NMDP (formerly Be The Match)
  • Communities Foundation of Texas
  • Dallas College Foundation
  • United Way of Greater Cleveland
  • YMCA of the North (Twin Cities)

Eleanor has dedicated her professional career to supporting the development goals of nonprofit organizations. Her counsel has furthered the philanthropic efforts of institutions and initiatives throughout the Midwest since 2014.

Eleanor brings expertise in major gifts strategy, communications, volunteer management, and coalition-building to every engagement. She has worked extensively with organizational leaders, board members, government officials, and donors to champion transformational initiatives. She values creativity, integrity, and a spirit of collaboration.

Since joining CCS in 2018, Eleanor has led successful efforts across sectors including environmental, arts and culture, healthcare, higher education, and public-private partnerships.

Eleanor earned a BA in American Studies and French from Smith College. Originally from Western Massachusetts, Eleanor lives in Chicago with her family and enjoys visiting museums and Lake Michigan.

select client partners

  • Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, Detroit, MI
  • Hennepin Healthcare Foundation
  • Lake Forest Open Lands, Lake Forest, IL
  • Saint Mary’s College

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.

Elizabeth is a thought leader in philanthropy and expert in nonprofit fundraising. Since joining CCS in 2013, she has partnered with institutions to plan and implement multi-million-to-billion-dollar campaigns. Elizabeth provides counsel on strategic planning, major gifts fundraising, and board engagements; leads campaign planning (feasibility) studies and has conducted nearly 400 stakeholder interviews with U.S. philanthropists; and has served in interim development roles where she managed client teams, annual campaigns, and special fundraising events.

Since 2019, Elizabeth has taught the course, “Fundraising & Philanthropy: The Donor Journey” at the University of Pennsylvania to graduate students in the Nonprofit Leadership Program. She serves on the School of Social Policy and Practice (SP2) Dean’s Alumni Advisory Board, and in 2020, she was inducted into the SP2 Alumni Hall of Fame for her work with mission-driven organizations.

Elizabeth has been recognized by Crain’s New York Business as a “Notable Leader in Philanthropy” (2025) and a “Notable Leader in Accounting, Consulting & Law” (2024); the New York Jewish Week in their annual “36 to Watch” as a “thought leader in Jewish philanthropy;” (2024); and BELLA Magazine as a “Woman of Influence in Philanthropy” (2022).

Elizabeth brings an unparalleled passion, innovative mindset, and commitment to mentorship to every element of her career. She is a board member at the Association of Fundraising Professionals NYC Chapter, where she has served on the Mentorship Committee, and is a member of Women in Development New York. Most recently, Elizabeth joined the Tufts University College (UC) Board of Advisors. In this role, she supports the UC’s commitment to expanding access to Tufts for diverse learners across generations through innovative educational opportunities, career acceleration, and community connections.

Elizabeth has been a guest on several nonprofit leadership podcasts and has been invited to speak at national industry conferences including Association of Fundraising Professionals, CASE-NAIS Independent Schools, Chicago Council of Planned Giving, Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools, and Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy, among others.

Elizabeth’s belief in social impact influenced her fundraising career: In rural Rwanda, she volunteered at a youth village for vulnerable students, founded in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide. In Jaipur, India, she lived and studied the generational empowerment of Indian women seeking to build lives of dignity and prosperity for themselves and their families. These global experiences, grounded in the values of inclusion and access, motivated Elizabeth to improve the world through philanthropy.

She holds a Masters in Nonprofit Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts from Tufts University. She lives in New York with her husband and their two daughters and is an avid hiker and tea drinker.

Select client Partners

  • American Friends of Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel
  • American Jewish Committee
  • ADL (Anti-Defamation League)
  • Asphalt Green
  • Baptist Health South Florida
  • Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
  • The Chapin School
  • The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
  • Columbia University School of Nursing
  • E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation
  • Friends Academy
  • The Hewitt School
  • Jewish Women International
  • Keshet
  • Larchmont Temple
  • Low Income Investment Fund
  • The Museum of Jewish Heritage: A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
  • Museum of West African Art
  • New York Youth Symphony
  • The Newark Public Library
  • NYU (Stern School of Business, Stern Center for Business & Human Rights)
  • Park Avenue Synagogue
  • The Parkinson’s Foundation
  • The Police Athletic League
  • Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools
  • The Ramaz School
  • The School of American Ballet
  • The Spence School
  • The Speyer Legacy School
  • Sutton Place Synagogue
  • Two Ten Footwear Foundation
  • Versiti Blood Research Institute
  • Williamstown Theatre Festival
  • The YIVO Institute of Jewish Research
  • YWCA Greenwich

resources

Rachel has partnered with institutions in the advocacy and education sectors to plan and implement transformational fundraising campaigns with revenue goals ranging from $10 million to $1 billion. She has also directed principal and major gifts fundraising, led strategic planning efforts, and improved fundraising systems and procedures for several clients.

Among her client engagements at CCS, Rachel has completed a three-year fundraising growth plan for the Campaign Legal Center and subsequently provided major gift strategy and infrastructure support that resulted in the largest donation in the organization’s history. She also provided counsel to the NAACP on its historic $600 million comprehensive campaign and on major gifts strategy for its civic engagement program. Rachel stewarded the planning process and strategy for the first major gifts campaign for the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, where she helped secure the organization’s largest ever individual and corporate contributions.

Rachel is a skilled nonprofit management strategist with diverse experiences across the philanthropic sector. Prior to joining CCS, she worked as a grant maker at the Open Society Foundations. Most recently, she coordinated funding in the areas of government accountability, money in politics, judicial nominations, and civic engagement.

Rachel holds an MPA in nonprofit management from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and a BA in Black Studies and Women’s & Gender Studies from Amherst College. She was a NYC Fellow at the New Leaders Council, a national organization that works to recruit, train, and promote young progressive leaders, and now serves on its Advisory Board. She is also a 2016 alumna of NYU Wagner’s Fellowship for Emerging Leaders in Public Service, and she serves on the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s Young Professionals Council and Planned Parenthood of Greater New York’s Activist Council.

select client partners

  • Campaign Legal Center
  • Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
  • City Seminary of New York
  • Democracy Fund
  • East Harlem Tutorial Program
  • Greenwich Country Day School
  • Manhattan Country School
  • NAACP

Polly is an Executive Vice President at CCS Fundraising. In this capacity, she has successfully partnered with nonprofit clients in a variety of sectors across Colorado. Polly believes in the transformative power of philanthropy and has worked with organizations to help them reach the most ambitious fundraising goals in the history of their organizations. Polly has effectively conducted feasibility and planning studies, developed major gifts programs, led teams through change, built systems, and led her clients in the planning and execution of major capital and comprehensive campaigns.

Polly is from Denver and is active in the Colorado community. She is on the Board of Trustees at Denver Academy and sits on the governance committee. Additionally, she recently completed two terms on the Board of Directors for KIPP Colorado Schools and was the co-chair of their development committee. Polly is an alumnus of the Institute for Leaders in Development through the University of Denver. Previously, she was the Managing Director of Development and Managing Director of Individual Giving at Teach For America Colorado where she led the team in raising over $35 million. She also taught 3rd grade in Los Angeles (LA) and served as an instructional coach in LA and Denver. Polly has a B.A. in Spanish Literature from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and a certification in elementary urban education from the University of California Los Angeles.

Polly lives in Denver with her spouse and two young daughters.

Select client Partners

  • Book Trust
  • Center for the Arts
  • Civic Center Conservancy
  • Colorado Public Radio
  • Colorado Rocky Mountain School
  • Denver Academy
  • Denver Health Foundation
  • The Denver Foundation
  • Denver Indoor Pools
  • Girl Scouts of Colorado
  • Mile High United Way
  • National Jewish Health
  • Santa Fe Preparatory School
  • St. Elizabeth’s School
  • St. John’s Cathedral
  • Temple Emanuel Denver
  • Women’s Foundation of Colorado

Allison Willner founded and leads CCS Fundraising’s Systems practice area, partnering with complex organizations to holistically analyze fundraising operations and assess the integrity of key development workflows.

Centered on ‘data in practice’, her work evaluates the ability of client systems and processes to support effective, impactful development programs – given where each organization is now, and where they aim to grow. A strong believer in the power of storytelling, she helps clients take ownership of their data narratives and create clear sight lines from individual activity to big-picture goals.

Allison has an MBA from Columbia Business School, and a BA in creative writing from SUNY Binghamton. She loves good coffee, magical realism, unusual houseplants, and making data visualizations for fun.

select client partners

  • American Museum of Natural History
  • Bard College
  • Catholic Health
  • Child Mind Institute
  • Duke Health
  • Duke University
  • Inova Health Foundation
  • Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health
  • NAACP
  • Operation Smile
  • United Way Worldwide
  • University of Maryland Medical System Foundation
  • Wesleyan University

Pronouns: she/her

As Executive Vice President at CCS Fundraising, Maeve Riley oversees operations in Texas and the Southern market. Based in Dallas, Maeve leverages her expertise of the regional philanthropic landscape to foster strategic partnerships with organizations spanning across sectors. Maeve specializes in prospective funder landscaping, principal and major gift strategies, sustainable growth plans, and staff and leadership training and development.

With over a decade of experience in nonprofit management and fundraising strategy, Maeve has guided organizations on development initiatives ranging from $4 million to $1B. Of note, Maeve led CCS’s partnership with Peterson Health Foundation, implementing key initiatives identified in the Foundation’s strategic plan, by creating an endowment, establishing a grateful patient program, developing their annual fund, and enhancing planned giving content.

In addition to her client service, Maeve is passionate about internal and external talent and professional development, with a focus on engaging diverse populations and broadening the scope of inclusive philanthropic practices.

Maeve also serves as a board member of the Misalignment Museum. Prior to her work at CCS, she served as the Director of Alumni Relations at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and led an educational program for a federally funded youth development agency.

Maeve holds a Master of Science in Nonprofit Management from DePaul University School of Public Service and a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Santa Clara University. She resides in Dallas and enjoys traveling around the country in her free time, frequenting her hometown in Northern California, and visiting family in Oregon and North Carolina.

select client partners

  • UT Southwestern Medical Center
  • Peterson Health Foundation
  • Fairhill School
  • Dallas College Foundation
  • Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
  • Waco Performing Arts Center
  • Arkansas Children’s
  • St. Rita Catholic School (TX)
  • Spring Hill College
  • The Fay School
  • JPS Health