Strategic partners for lasting impact

Providing clarity
through complexity

We partner with teams to navigate critical initiatives,
strengthen organizational readiness, and drive durable growth.

Program Delivery Embedded project management and program leadership, from initiation to close. Change Management Adoption planning built for public-sector and education realities, with transferable frameworks for other organizations. Decision Support Structured analysis and recommendations leaders can stand behind. Risk & Readiness Anticipating obstacles before they cost time or trust.

Our Story

Strategy
rooted in insight

Our name comes from Cascadia, the Pacific Northwest region shaped by the Cascade Range and the rivers that run through it. The mountains provide the structure; the water carves the path forward. We see ourselves in that landscape. We meet our clients in high-stakes moments when initiatives launch, capacity is stretched thin, and delivery cannot fail. Through project management and change management, we help them build the structure, navigate change, and deliver with confidence.

We are a boutique consulting practice by design. We are selective in the engagements we take on, so each one gets senior attention from start to finish and an approach shaped to how your organization operates. With 25+ years of combined professional experience, we build the readiness organizations need to execute with clarity, adapt with agility, and thrive through change.

Meet the founders

Our Services

Ways to work with us

Engagements start with a diagnostic review

Diagnostics

Where every engagement begins: a clear read on what you have, what’s working, and what to do next.

A clear-eyed read on your current environment, tools, and processes
Improvement opportunities ranked by effort and impact
Readiness assessment for new systems, platforms, and AI capabilities
Practical recommendations you can act on immediately or hand to us

The work that follows

Project Management

Project Management Office (PMO) setup and delivery structure designed for how your organization actually decides
Governance and reporting that gives leadership a straight answer on status
Delivery oversight from initiation through closeout
Methodology and artifacts your team can run after we leave
Project rescue and recovery for stalled or off-track projects

Change Management

Organizational readiness and cultural impact assessment
Change strategy and plan built around your stakeholders
Communications and stakeholder engagement from planning through go-live
Adoption support for complex, multi-site environments
Post-launch reinforcement and adoption measurement so the change sticks

Capacity Building

Workshops and leadership development for your teams
Facilitation for high-stakes meetings and complex decisions
Communities of practice that outlast the engagement
Coaching that builds internal delivery capacity
Train-the-trainer programs that spread delivery and change skills across your organization

Already know what you need?

If it’s someone to run the project, lead the change effort, or stand up a PMO, let us know. We keep the diagnostic short and get to work.

Start with a conversation

Who We Serve

Experience where public trust matters

K-12 Districts Universities Community Colleges Workforce Agencies Public Sector

Our methods travel; we take on private sector and startup engagements where the fit is right.

Founders

Gavin Deare

CCMP® · PMP®

Gavin is the co-founder of Cascadia Strategic Partners (CSP), with a background spanning Change Management, Project and Program Management, executive advisory, and original organizational research built entirely within the public sector institutions. He has advised C-suite and senior leadership teams across complex, politically charged environments, consistently delivering progress where systemic inertia and budget pressures have stopped others in their tracks.

His experience cuts across K-12 Education, Higher Education, Community Colleges, and Union-represented Healthcare. This focus has given Gavin a rare vantage point: the budget constraints, political complexity, and deeply entrenched systems that don't respond to off-the-shelf frameworks and require someone who has already learned, from the inside, how change actually takes hold.

Gavin holds a degree in Linguistics and spent more than a decade teaching business communications at the university level—a foundation that bridges analytical precision and organizational communication. As a Certified Change Management Professional (CCMP®) and Project Management Professional (PMP®), he brings both the rigor of structured delivery and the adaptability to work within systems that resist change by design.

At CSP he is helping public sector organizations navigate the changes they cannot afford to get wrong, advising leadership, conducting original research, and delivering measurable, lasting results across some of the most complex institutions in the field.

Off the clock, Gavin can often be found on the water or in the woods, paddleboarding across Pacific Northwest lakes, camera in hand, or chasing the soft glow of golden-hour light along a forest trail. He also enjoys scuba diving, cooking, and hiking.

Puja Naidu

MBA · MSc · BBA · PMP® · CSM®

Puja is the co-founder of Cascadia Strategic Partners (CSP), with a diverse background spanning Project and Program Management, Change Management, Process Improvement, IT Audit and Quality Assurance, built across the Americas and Asia Pacific. She has led and advised teams spread globally across various industries, consistently driving progress toward shared strategic goals.

Her experience spans across Education, FinTech, Banking, Software, Aviation, and Consulting. This breadth has given Puja a rare vantage point; one that reveals the patterns organizations sometimes miss: talented teams with ambitious projects that stall, not from lack of effort, but from the friction of change, unclear ownership, and the quiet weight of tool and systems fatigue.

Puja holds a BBA from Western Michigan University, an MBA from Ball State University, and an MSc from Harrisburg University of Science & Technology, a combination that bridges business strategy, organizational leadership, and the technical dimensions of modern work. As a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®) and Certified Scrum Master (CSM®), she brings both the rigor of structured delivery and the adaptability of agile thinking to every engagement.

That's the foundation behind everything at CSP: helping organizations cut through tool and systems fatigue, guiding teams toward the approaches and technology that serve them, and building the kind of clarity and ownership that makes change stick.

Puja enjoys traveling and is intrigued by culture, heritage, and local traditions. Her curiosity about how communities live, create, and preserve their stories shapes the way she explores the world. Being multilingual and able to pick up languages quickly has allowed her to form meaningful connections with people she deeply values. She enjoys hiking, deep-sea diving in Borneo, watercolor painting, and discussing new business ideas!

Talk to Us

Let’s bring structure
to the initiative in front of you.

Tell us about the decision, transition, or delivery challenge your team is navigating. We will follow up within two business days.

Providing claritythrough complexity

Strategy rooted in insight