The CCS Team

CCS Partners

Brenda Considine

Brenda Considine has held professional positions in the field of government relations and policy development since 1985.

She began her career at the Center for Outreach Services to the Autism Community (now Autism NJ), where she was ultimately appointed its first Director of Legislative Affairs, influencing policy development at the state and federal level and creating the first grassroots initiatives in support of improved disability policy in New Jersey. She edited and produced the agency’s clinical and political communications, consumer guides and resource directories, and established the agency’s robust information and referral capacities.

Later, as Director of Government Affairs at the Arc of New Jersey, Brenda coordinated statewide grassroots education and activism programs, and get out the vote campaigns. She lobbied successfully for the passage of New Jersey’s Family Support Act, positively shaped the adopted Comprehensive Educational Improvement Act (CEIFA), and coordinated a successful campaign for a New Jersey bond referendum.

She is the principle author of influential legislative and administrative policy reports in the area of education and human services, and currently authors and edits several periodic publications.

Brenda’s client work with CCS is as a marketing and communications planner, editor and writer, trainer, and policy consultant.

Rick Considine

Rick Considine has been a professional communications planner, program developer, marketer, producer, and constituent organizer since 1990. He has held senior administrative positions at Rutgers University, Disability Rights NJ, The Hun School of Princeton, and Island Trading/Island Records. His professional positions have involved extensive program planning, development and implementation.

As Director of Advocacy Programs at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, he was a member of the university’s Strategic Communications team, and had primary responsibility for the development and operation of the university’s advocacy program.

Rick planned and directed all communications, outreach and training programs, media development, and legislative activity for New Jersey Protection and Advocacy (now Disability Rights NJ), a federally-funded statewide non-profit. He also served as the agency’s spokesperson and legislative liaison, leading successful legislative initiatives related to health care, disability rights and voting reform. He has drafted curricula and conducted trainings for national associations on organizational crisis management and media relations, and has consulted directly with organizations facing crisis situations.

Rick’s client work with CCS is as a marketing and communications planner, policy and program consultant, writer and editor, and web developer/programmer. He also has primary responsibility for coordinating CCS’s creative development and production.

CCS Associates

Joanne De Simone (Outreach, Writing, Editorial Support)

Joanne graduated summa cum laude from Hunter College in New York with degrees in Dance and Special Education. She has counseled families and taught children with special needs for the past twenty-two years. Joanne’s passion for special education advocacy intensified when she became a mother of two children with completely different but equally challenging disabilities. She has written about her parenting experiences for several publications including The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, and Brain, Child Magazine’s blog. She is a contributor in Temple University Press’ forthcoming book titled Barriers and Belongings: Autoethnographies of Disability. Joanne recently authored “Fall and Recovery, Raising Children with Disabilities Through Lessons Learned in Dance.” The memoir is published by She Writes Press and distributed by Simon and Schuster. Follow her at Special-EducationMom.com.

Callie Considine (Project Manager)

Callie is an organizer and a problem-solver who brings her leadership skills to multiple industries including communication, education, and theatre. She has been engaged with CCS from an early age: meeting clients and assisting with editing, marketing, event management, and acting as Project Manager for client contracts. Later, she worked as a Teaching Assistant and an Administrator at The Titusville Academy, where she grew her interest in hands-on leadership. While working at TTA, Callie was also attending Ithaca College, where she graduated with a degree in Theatre Studies. As a freelance Stage Manager operating out of New York City, Callie coordinated 40+ productions and events, managing large teams of administrators, creatives, and technicians. Her passion and precision earned her positions managing The White House Historical Association Annual Gala, the world-renowned La Mama Experimental Theatre Club, as well as a national tour of Jabari Dreams of Freedom. Callie’s experiences with an extensive range of people, problems, and creative solutions has made her a compassionate and attentive manager.

Rebecca Shavulsky (Photography)

Rebecca Shavulsky attended Emerson College in Boston, and continued her studies at The International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York City. Rebecca established her professional credentials at Magnum Photos, working with Susan Miselas, recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship Award. Subsequent professional training included positions working with many world-renowned photojournalists such as Mary Ellen Mark and portrait photographers including Andrew Eccles.

Rebecca’s twenty years of experience has included national and international engagements with Doctors Without Borders, The Red Cross, The George Soros Foundation, Special Olympics, The New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities, UNICEF, United Way, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, United Nations Refugee Agency, and others. Her news organization experience includes engagements with the Associated Press, The New York Times, The Baltimore Sun, and others. Her experience and sensitivity working with children and adults living with a wide array of social, economic and physical challenges and settings enables her to identify and convey her subjects’ distinct characters through her images.

Nancy Skreener (Art Direction, Design, Production Support)

A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, Nancy is an award winning graphic designer with more than 20 year of experience. She has produced advertising & promotional materials, training & meeting planning collateral, publications, catalogs, media kits, books, and brochures.