Evan Unzelman

With fifteen years of specialized experience in the field of private foundations and CRTs, Evan Unzelman has risen quickly through the ranks of charitable and tax planning. He began his career at a multifamily office, where he provided comprehensive solutions to the unique challenges faced by affluent families. In 2006, he joined Sterling, where he oversaw the administration of all of the firms’ charitable clients. In 2008, he was tasked with the expansion of the firm’s CRT brokerage platform.

Evan was elevated to COO in 2010 to expand and sharpen Sterling's service offering for charitable donors and their advisors. In 2015, he was promoted to President, expanding his responsibilities to include the supervision of all business lines:

• Private foundation management
• Charitable consulting
• CRT secondary planning

Evan is a recognized expert and sought-after speaker in the field of charitable planning, and CRTs in particular. He speaks widely to a variety of audiences including attorneys, accountants and financial advisors, primarily on CRT secondary planning, tax implications of CRTs, and the role CRTs play in the estate and wealth planning of affluent clients.

Evan's articles have appeared in publications such as Estate Planning, NAEPC’s Journal of Tax & Estate Planning, Atlanta Bar Association's The Mortmain, Wealth Strategies Journal and Atlantic Trust’s Trusted Advisor. He was also the lead editor of Managing Foundations and Charitable Trusts (Bloomberg Press), which is largely regarded as the definitive guide to managing charitable entities.

Evan received finance and economics degrees (summa cum laude) from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. At Pacific Lutheran, he was President of the Student Investment Fund, member of the Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honors Society, and winner of the Academic Excellence Award as the top finance student.