At Essence, our team is your team—our trusted partners are committed to advancing equity, sustainability, and organizational success.

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ExperienceD Nonprofit Consultants

Meet Our Team

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Breanna Rodriguez
(She/Her)

  • Breanna Rodriguez (she/her) is the co-founder of Essence Consulting, a strategic nonprofit development firm dedicated to empowering human service organizations through comprehensive organizational support. With extensive experience in international and domestic NGO sectors, she specializes in transformative consulting services that drive sustainable growth and operational excellence.

    Core Services

    • Interim Executive Leadership

    • Strategic Consulting

    • Grant Writing

    • Organizational Development

    • Leadership Team Coaching

    Expertise Highlights

    • End-to-end program cycle management

    • Equity-informed strategic planning

    • Creative problem-solving

    • Organizational capacity building

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Chandra Chea
(She/Her)

  • Chandra Chea (she/her) is the co-founder of Essence Consulting, a strategic nonprofit development firm dedicated to empowering human service organizations through comprehensive organizational support. Her experiences extend domestically and internationally with expertise in partnership, program, and grant management. She specializes in process improvement and capacity building to implement impactful health programming and strategic organizational initiatives.

    Core Services

    • Interim Executive Leadership

    • Strategic Consulting

    • Grant Writing

    • Organizational Development

    • Leadership Team Coaching

    Expertise Highlights

    • End-to-end program cycle management

    • Equity-informed strategic planning

    • Creative problem-solving

    • Organizational capacity building

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Steven Herrmann
(He/Him)

  • Steven Herrmann (he/him) is an accomplished executive with extensive experience in advancement services, strategic project management, and consulting. He earned his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, specializing in Marketing Management, Business Analytics, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management.

    As the Executive Director of Advancement Services at DePaul University, Steven led a $4 million technology transformation project to Salesforce-based platforms. His strategic approach to stakeholder engagement, vendor selection, and team leadership will significantly enhance the university's technological infrastructure and operational efficiency. As a leader at DePaul, Steven has implemented significant staffing improvements and fostered a culture of independence and professional development. Prior to his role at DePaul, Steven managed consulting projects for universities including Dartmouth College and the University of Minnesota. Steven's proven track record in driving strategic initiatives and enhancing team dynamics makes him a valuable asset for nonprofits seeking leadership development and organizational effectiveness.

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Arielle Hankerson, MPH
(She/Her)

  • Arielle Hankerson (she/her) joins Essence as an Associate Consultant. She brings a background in international development and public health, with degrees from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and The College of William & Mary. Her formal education is predicated with international non-profit work experience across Africa, Latin America, and Asia working in nonprofit medical programming, education, and water projects. Her experiences build off her nonprofit development and fundraising work for community nonprofits.

    In more recent years, Arielle has worked in an operations and program management capacity with USAID-funded projects, including the Global Health Supply Chain - Procurement and Supply Management project (GHSC-PSM), previously one of the largest foreign aid projects in the USAID portfolio. Through this work, she has extended her skills into contract management, compliance, and financial management.

    Alongside her work, she recently concluded a six-year term on the Board of Directors for Horizons Hampton Roads, a community nonprofit focused on academic and social enrichment and equity in Hampton Roads. Coming to Essence, she is excited to work alongside colleagues, partners, and clients who similarly value equity, sustainability, and community-led interventions.

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Paul Rebman
(He/Him)

  • Paul Rebman (he/him) graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh in 1999 with dual degrees in Applied Mathematics (BS) and Spanish (BA). He later attended the University of Denver, getting his Master's Degree in International Development. For the past 3 years, Paul has worked for Save the Children, as the Sr. Director for Humanitarian Programs, managing a team to work closely with global partners and country offices to successfully, pursue, acquire, implement, and maintain compliance on a portfolio of over $50 million annually.

    Prior to Save the Children, Paul worked for the American Red Cross, holding positions as the (1) Regional Manager/Deputy Director for LAC, (2) Manager for Global DRR Programming, and (3) Director of US Government Programs and Operations. As Director he supported the organization to build out SOPs, toolkits, and a strategy to develop and implement improved proposal development, partnership engagement, and program compliance resources and protocols for the organization.

    Paul has also worked in proposal development and grant management for Catholic Relief Services supporting a program portfolio of over $100M/year and with World Relief which included multiple positions including Director of Disaster Response, Deputy/ Interim Country Director positions in Indonesia, South Sudan, and DR Congo, on field level disaster response lead in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Darfur, South Sudan, DR Congo, Haiti, and more.

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Charlotte Perez
(She/Her)

  • Charlotte Perez (she/her) joins Essence as an Associate Consultant. She brings a background in project management and editing with experience in higher education and publishing. Her passions include storytelling, engaging with donor and alumni communities, and empowering technology conversions.

    Charlotte will be earning her master's in writing and publishing in June 2026. She is excited to learn more about grant strategy and program management from the Essence Consulting team!

Interested in working with our team?

Our experienced consultants are here to help your nonprofit strengthen systems, build capacity, and achieve lasting impact.

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