Sarah Brachle Wagner is an experienced nonprofit professional who brings over twenty years of in depth and hands on experience in affordable housing development, fundraising, partnership development, and non-profit operations. She brings extensive experience in both the nonprofit and government sectors.
Prior to joining Habitat for Humanity, Sarah was the founder and principal of SBW Solutions, a consulting firm, where she and her team helped nonprofit organizations to secure nearly $10 million in grant funding and tax credit equity over the course of four years. From 2006-2013, she was the Executive Director of DuPage Habitat for Humanity, during which time she spearheaded two successful fundraising campaigns, which allowed for a tenfold increase the annual operating budget and development of over 30 homes. Sarah also spent an early part of her career in Washington D.C. at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as a Presidential Management Fellow.
Sarah holds a B.A. from DePaul University and an M. A. from the University of Chicago.
Brian has 30 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, with a focus on Resource Development, Marketing, Social Media, Technology and Knowledge Management. Prior to joining Chicagoland Habitat for Humanity, Brian held positions with the McGaw YMCA, The Alford Group, The Field Museum, Hadley School for the Blind and The Goodman Theatre.
He has an extensive knowledge of fundraising software systems, information management and the integration of not-for-profit technology and "back-end" processes. As a consultant and Chief Information Officer of The Alford Group, he was instrumental in building services and counsel designed to combine the best practices of data and donor relationship management with fundraising strategies.
Brian holds a Bachelor of Arts from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and apprenticed at the Actor's Theatre of Louisville. He is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and has conducted seminars on fundraising best practices and ePhilanthropy for such organizations as the Association of Consultants to Non-Profits (CAN), North Park University, Support Center of Chicago, AFP's Indiana Fundraising Day, North American YMCA Development Organization (NAYDO), New Trier Township and Blackbaud, Inc..
Christine Miller joined Chicagoland Habitat for Humanity with over 30 years of finance and nonprofit experience. Her professional career was focused on the public finance arena where she managed trust teams specializing in the sales, operations and administration of municipal bond financings for education, nonprofit, housing and various state and local government entities. She has held senior positions at Amalgamated Bank of Chicago, LaSalle Bank and Continental Bank.
While managing trust departments, Christine has also been a very active volunteer and fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity Chicago, Northern Illinois Food Bank, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and others. In addition, she is a former board member of the Chicago Summer Business Institute and Oak Park Residence Corporation.
Christine graduated from Carroll University with a B.S. in Business Administration (marketing emphasis) and from DePaul University with an MBA.
Leslie is a Chicago Native, US Navy Veteran and holds a B.A. from DePaul University. Leslie brings construction experience from her time in the Navy where she trained and served as a Builder in the Seabees. After her deployment to Afghanistan in 2013, she moved back to Illinois and has since been working in the nonprofit sector. She brings 10 years of experience serving the veteran population in Chicago with a local nonprofit that assists veterans with student loan debt, employment, and paid training opportunities. She is proud to continue her service to veterans as the Veterans Engagement Specialist here at Chicagoland Habitat for Humanity.
Dru brings an extensive background in affordable housing and nonprofit management to Chicagoland Habitat, where she assists Habitat affiliates in preparing state tax credit applications and supports the Habitat mission through a variety of special projects. Her prior experience includes serving as the Executive Director of the DuPage Homeownership Center (now H.O.M.E. DuPage), a HUD-certified housing counseling agency, and as the Director of Finance for two DuPage-area nonprofits. She began her career working in market research and communications with Freddie Mac.
Most recently, Dru was a principal with SBW Solutions LLC, where she provided grant writing and technical assistance to Habitat affiliates and other nonprofit organizations. She also taught a graduate course in nonprofit financial management at North Central College. In 2017, Dru was appointed to the Board of Commissioners of the DuPage Housing Authority and currently chairs the board’s Finance Committee.
Dru holds a B.A. in Economics from Kenyon College and a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
Lindsay Hurey brings extensive and diverse experience in finance and accounting to Chicagoland Habitat. Prior to joining Habitat, she spent 15 years working at Exelon Corporation in various roles of increasing responsibility, including financial planning and analysis, controllership functions and project management. She began her career as a financial statement auditor at Arthur Andersen and KPMG. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Purdue University.