Overview
Since its founding in 1881 by visionary leader Clara Barton, the American Red Cross has been the nation's premier emergency response organization. As part of a worldwide movement that offers neutral humanitarian care to the victims of war, the American Red Cross distinguishes itself by also aiding victims of devastating natural disasters. Over the years, the organization has expanded its services, always with the aim of preventing and relieving suffering.
Mission
The American Red Cross, a humanitarian organization led by volunteers and guided by its Congressional Charter and the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross Movement, will provide relief to victims of disaster and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.
Program
Today, in addition to domestic disaster relief, the American Red Cross offers compassionate services in five other areas: community services that help the needy; support and comfort for military members and their families; the collection, processing and distribution of lifesaving blood and blood products; educational programs that promote health and safety; and international relief and development programs.
Impact
The American Red Cross is where people mobilize to help their neighbors—across the street, across the country, and across the world—in emergencies. Each year, in communities large and small, victims of some 70,000 disasters turn to neighbors familiar and new—the more than half a million volunteers and 35,000 employees of the Red Cross. Through over 700 locally supported chapters, more than 15 million people gain the skills they need to prepare for and respond to emergencies in their homes, communities and world.
Some four million people give blood—the gift of life—through the Red Cross, making it the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. And the Red Cross helps thousands of U.S. service members separated from their families by military duty stay connected. As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, a global network of 186 national societies, the Red Cross helps restore hope and dignity to the world's most vulnerable people.
The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.
Chief Executive
Gail McGovern
Chief Executive Profile
Gail J. McGovern was named President and CEO of the American Red Cross on April 8, 2008. Gail, who held top management positions at AT&T Corporation and Fidelity Investments, has experience running large organizations in competitive industries, and a track record for improving business performance and service delivery to the public.
Gail joined the faculty of the Harvard Business School in June 2002 where she taught Marketing to first year students in the MBA program and Consumer Marketing to second year students.
Prior to joining Harvard University, Gail was president of Fidelity Personal Investments, a unit of Fidelity Investments, serving 4 million customers with $500 billion in assets. In this role she had overall responsibility for Fidelity's retail mutual fund and brokerage businesses and was a member of Fidelity's Operating Committee.
Gail joined Fidelity in September 1998 as president of Distribution and Services. Previously, she was Executive Vice President for the Consumer Markets Division at AT&T, responsible for AT&T's $26 billion residential long distance service and largest business unit. She began her career at AT&T as a computer programmer and moved up through sales, marketing and general management assignments, including chief strategist of AT&T's Communications Services Group and Executive Vice President of the $25 billion Business Markets Division.
Born in 1952, Gail received a Bachelor of Arts degree in quantitative sciences from Johns Hopkins University in 1974. She received an MBA from Columbia University in 1987. Gail received alumna of the year from both universities.
Board
Cesar A. Aristeiguieta, MD
Director of EMS and Disaster Preparedness
Emergent Medical Associates
Santa Monica, California
Sanford A. Belden
Retired
Hatfield, Massachusetts
Paula E. Boggs
Vice President, General Counsel and
Corporate Secretary
Starbucks Coffee Company
Seattle, Washington
Richard M. Fountain, Esq.
Attorney
Law Offices of Richard M. Fountain, PA
Jackson, Mississippi
Allan I. Goldberg, MD
Executive Medical Director
Merck & Co., Inc.
West Point, Pennsylvania
James G. Goodwin
Senior Partner
Goodwin & Grant, Inc.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Ann F. Kaplan
Chair
Circle Financial Group
New York, New York
James W. Keyes
Chairman & CEO
Blockbuster Stores, Inc.
Dallas, Texas
Anna Maria L. Larsen
Partner
Larsen Consulting International
Golden, Colorado
Bonnie McElveen-Hunter (Chairman)
CEO
Pace Communications, Inc.
Greensboro, North Carolina
Youngme E. Moon, Ph.D.
Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
Boston, Massachusetts
Suzanne Nora Johnson
Senior Director
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
Los Angeles, California
Richard Patton
Founder
Courage Capital Management
Nashville, Tennessee
Laurence E. Paul
Managing Principal
Laurel Crown Partners LLC
Santa Monica, California
Joseph B. Pereles, Esq.
Vice President Development and General
Counsel
Drury Inns, Inc.
St. Louis, Missouri
Melanie R. Sabelhaus
Owings Mills, Maryland
H. Marshall Schwarz
Retired Chairman
U.S. Trust Corporation
New York, New York
Steven H. Wunning
Group President and Executive Office Member
Caterpillar, Inc.
Peoria, Illinois
Countries of Operation
United States
States of Operation
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Marshall Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands, Virgin Islands of the U.S.
Add to Wishlist / Registry
