About Us

Cooper Coleman is a full-service recruiting and consulting firm partnering exclusively with nonprofit organizations, foundations, and research and academic institutions to drive meaningful growth. We move organizations forward by placing the right leaders in the right roles at the right time, and we help to strengthen management and fundraising capacity to amplify their mission and impact.

We work with organizations of all sizes locally, nationally, and globally. Our practical, actionable, strategic approach helps our partner organizations achieve durable solutions and sustainable growth.

We represent our partners as if we are a member of their team—with passion, integrity, and a deep understanding of their challenges and opportunities. We intuitively know what makes the work they do unique and essential.

We are an LGBTQ+ owned business that embraces demographic, experiential, sexual, and cultural inclusion. We believe everyone is better when leadership reflects the diversity of its people and when an organization reflects the diversity of those it serves.

Our Team

7

The Team Moving You Forward!
An ever-growing cadre of incredibly talented professionals extends the capacity and capabilities of our team. They include recruiters and organizational development experts, frontline fundraisers, planned giving experts, communicators, marketers, designers—each of whom has been hand-selected from our previous work experience and meets our rigorous expectations for performance, expertise, and continued professional development. Meet a few of them below.

Solutions And Expertise

We take extraordinary measures to preserve dignity in the recruiting experience. Recognizing there is a person behind each resume, we treat each candidate with humanity, clarity, and respect—as the assets they are to our sector, the third-largest driver of the U.S. economy.

The right leaders in the right roles are essential for success. The most successful organizations do not settle on their leaders, they strategically and meaningfully choose each one.

Recruiting the best candidates can be protracted and time-consuming. For that reason, we do the heavy lifting to find your ideal candidate, so you can focus on other priorities. We help organizations assess their unique needs to build a comprehensive profile of the professionals they require. We leverage our extensive network of passive and active candidates throughout the sector to place the right leaders in the roles most essential to your success.

Solutions
  • Advisory Services
  • Culture Shaping
  • Executive Coaching
  • Executive Search
  • Interim
  • Leadership Consulting
  • Leadership Develop.
  • Mgmt. Consulting
  • Org. Chart Mapping
  • Succession Planning
Industries
  • Associations
  • Colleges/Universities
  • Cultural Arts
  • Education
  • Foundations
  • K-12
  • Non-Profit
Functions
  • Board/Governance
  • Business Development
  • CEO/President
  • Development
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • General Management
  • GM/Operations
  • Human Resources
  • Marketing & Sales

News Briefings

Cooper Coleman Seeks Strategic Partnerships Officer for Proteus Fund

Chicago-based Cooper Coleman LLC has been enlisted to find a strategic partnerships officer for the RISE Together Fund (RTF), an initiative of Proteus Fund, a public foundation that works to advance democracy, human rights, and peace, in New York City. The assignment is being led by executive search consultant Paul Towne. “Ongoing violence and discrimination

Cooper Coleman Recruits COO for AIDS United

Following a national search, Chicago-based Cooper Coleman LLC has recruited Brad Kiley as vice president and chief operating officer of Washington, D.C.-based AIDS United. Johnny Cooper, founder and CEO of the firm, led the assignment. “We are thrilled to have Brad join AIDS United as our next chief operating officer,” said Jesse Milan, CEO. “He is

Cooper Coleman Recruits Chief Technology Officer for Lambda Legal

Chicago-based Cooper Coleman LLC  has assisted in the recruitment of Gillian Power as the new chief technology officer of Lambda Legal. “We are proud to have Gillian join our team as our new chief technology officer,” said Kevin Jennings, CEO of Lambda Legal. “Gillian’s rich depth of experience and ability to adapt quickly to technological change will be critical

Cooper Coleman Names Chief Operating Officer

Chicago-based Cooper Coleman LLC has appointed Tony Paskauskas, a veteran non-profit operations executive, as its chief operating officer, a new role at the firm. He will be responsible for scaling Cooper Coleman’s business operations and finance capabilities and extending its executive search and consulting capacities. “We’ve recruited one of the most talented and exceptional operations

Press Releases

Cooper Coleman Hires Paul Towne as Executive Search Consultant

(Jan. 11, 2022) Cooper Coleman LLC has hired Paul Towne as Executive Search Consultant, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, to expand the firm’s executive search capacity and extend its reach to social sector organizations throughout the United States. Paul’s leadership experience spans more than 20 years in nonprofit organization management, fundraising, and technology

Cooper Coleman Hires Kathy Kraushar as Executive Search Consultant

Cooper Coleman LLC has hired Kathy Kraushar as Executive Search Consultant, based in Cincinnati, to expand the firm’s executive search capacity and extend its reach to social sector organizations throughout the United States. Kathy’s leadership experience spans more than 30 years in nonprofit organization management, healthcare, and talent development. Before joining Cooper Coleman, Kathy spent

Cooper Coleman to Lead Search For President and CEO, Interact For Health

CINCINNATI, OH — Cincinnati-based community health organization Interact for Health has retained Cooper Coleman LLC, an emerging leader among social sector executive search firms, to identify its next President and CEO. Serving the Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and Southeastern Indiana tri-state region, Interact for Health promotes health equity through its innovative community engagement, grant-making, research,

Cooper Coleman LLC Earns Certification as an LGBT Business Enterprise®

March 11, 2021 – COOPER COLEMAN LLC EARNS CERTIFICATION AS AN LGBT BUSINESS ENTERPRISE® (CERTIFIED LGBTBE®) BY NATIONAL LGBT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CHICAGO, IL — Cooper Coleman is proud to announce its recent certification as a Certified LGBTBE® through the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) Supplier Diversity Initiative. The NGLCC is the business voice

Cooper Coleman LLC Announces the Formation of a New Executive Search & Advisory Firm

January 27, 2021 – COOPER COLEMAN LLC ANNOUNCES THE FORMATION OF A NEW EXECUTIVE SEARCH AND ADVISORY FIRM FOR THE SOCIAL SECTOR CHICAGO, IL — Cooper Coleman offers retained executive search and advisory services to nonprofit organizations, foundations, and research and academic institutions. Cooper Coleman partners exclusively with organizations and institutions throughout the social sector