We’re very excited to welcome Charlotte, Sophie, and Michael to the Public Works team.

Our Project Coordinators, Charlotte and Sophie, are both MPA candidates at NYU Wagner, while Michael is a Coro Fellow currently placed at our firm. They all started within the past two months, and we have been keeping them busy. As key members of the Public Works team, we engage our interns in exciting projects that build strong organizations and communities. We have great group interns this season that complements and adds on to the team’s experience. Get to know our interns by reading their profile below.

Charlotte Herzan, Project Coordinator for Business Development

After graduating from college with an Art and Psychology degree, Charlotte blended creativity with human behavior by pursuing a career in Advertising. However, she knew she ultimately wanted a career that would have a meaningful impact on people’s lives.

After a year and a half in Advertising, Charlotte moved to Los Angeles to work for the Movember Foundation. The Movember Foundation is a men’s health nonprofit that asks men to grow mustaches during the month of November to raise funds and awareness for men’s health issues. She was immediately drawn to the organization’s have fun and do good attitude. Over her four years at the Foundation, she worked on the Partnership team, overseeing all collaborations with for-profit brands. Charlotte’s time at Movember honed her skills in client relations, business development, negotiation, account management, and critical thinking.

However, she still wanted to strengthen her quantitative skills, so she began graduate school at NYU Wagner to obtain her MPA degree. While at school, Charlotte was interested in taking on part-time work and hoped to gain experience within public sector consulting. When she started at Public Work Partners, she loved that the company was team-oriented and client-solution driven. She was also excited to bring her past business development experience to the role.

Outside of the office, Charlotte loves to travel and hike. Her hidden talents include most bar games including darts, shuffleboard, ping-pong, etc. She also enjoys skiing, biking, art, and reading a good book.

Sophie Gedion, Project Coordinator for Client Services

Working in the public sector has been a common thread throughout Sophie’s career. Her path began in college interning for United Way and then the Colorado General Assembly. Her internships sparked an interest in education and influenced her decision to do a year of service with AmeriCorps after graduating college. Sophie logged over 2,000 hours of service working with students to improve their math skills in one of Denver’s highest need schools.

She then worked for Denver Public Schools as a Regional Training Coordinator. Much of her time was spent on a program supporting parents on a paraprofessional pipeline. The program’s mission was to ensure there was accessibility for individuals to obtain work within the education field. After three years, Sophie was ready to take the next step in my career, so she began graduate school at NYU Wagner to pursue her MPA degree.

Sophie was immediately interested in joining Public Works Partners because of the company’s strong mission. She was also excited to expand her past experience in community engagement as well as learn more about additional subject areas that her work touches.

Outside of Public Works, Sophie enjoys cooking, baking, trivia, and staying up-to-date on the latest movies. She loves Netflix and is a self-described Disney Channel Original Movie buff. Some of her favorites include True Confessions, The Color of Friendship, and the Zenon series.

Michael Lukauskas, Fellow

Michael is a recent graduate from Washington University in St. Louis where he majored in Political Science and American Cultural Studies. While at college, he became interested in exploring a career in the public sector, interning for Chris Koster’s gubernatorial campaign in Missouri and working at Help USA to help provide low-income housing for the homeless.

Post-graduation, Michael enrolled in The Coro Fellows Program of Public Affairs, a nine-month leadership development program that offers an intensive look at public affairs in NYC. The program includes five two-month placements in various sectors including labor, government, non-profit, and private. Public Works Partners is thrilled to be hosting Michael for one of his rotations within the Coro program.

Michael was excited to be placed at Public Works as he had wanted to be exposed to consulting and learn more about how to strengthen non-profits. He especially liked Public Works’ approach to community engagement which ensures community voices are heard and incorporated into strategies.

Outside of work, Michael likes to read “City and State New York”, “The New York Times”, and “The Atlantic”. He follows sports closely and is a big fan of Wisconsin’s college basketball and football teams. He also enjoys playing soccer, camping, hiking, and being outside.