Mark Thomas | Interim Chief Executive Officer
Kendra Henson | Regional Volunteer Services Officer
Heidi Mucha | Regional Chief Development Officer
Catherine Rabenstine | Regional Chief Operating Officer
Erin Craghead | Interim Regional Disaster Officer
Brian McDaniel | Interim Regional Director, Service to the Armed Forces/International Services
Joy Squier | Regional Communications and Marketing Officer
Trish Burnett | Executive Director, American Red Cross Serving Quad Cities and West Central Illinois
Lyn Hruska | Executive Director, American Red Cross Serving Central Illinois
Leslie Luther | Executive Director, American Red Cross of Northwest Illinois
Brian McDaniel | Executive Director, American Red Cross of Illinois River Valley
Dawn Morris | Executive Director, American Red Cross Serving South Central Illinois
Mark Thomas joined the American Red Cross of Wisconsin in December 2018 as both Regional CEO and Southeast Chapter Executive Director. In July 2023, Mark became the interim Chief Executive Officer while the Illinois region CEO, Celena Roldan Sarillo, serves an interim CEO role in another region.
Thomas leads with a philosophy that people come first, starting with the dedicated Red Cross staff and more than 2,100 volunteers across Wisconsin and the U.P. of Michigan. These teams make the Red Cross mission happen daily and thousands of times each year – for families displaced by a home fire, blood donors turning out for the first or 100^th^ time, service members returning home to be with family in their hour of need. High points for the Wisconsin Region during Thomas’s tenure so far include:
Thomas has deep nonprofit and for-profit executive experience, with strengths in sales and operations management, and strategic leadership skills. Thomas has led or participated in fundraising efforts for The American Heart Association, United Performing Arts Fund and The United Way. Most recently, he served as Vice President and COO for the Sojourner Family Peace Center in Milwaukee. His professional background also includes leadership roles at The Milwaukee Business Journal, Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
A Milwaukee native who lives in Mequon with his family, Thomas has and currently serves on numerous nonprofit boards, and has been recognized on numerous occasions for his contributions to the community.
Regional Volunteer Services Officer, Kendra Henson is from Central Illinois and has been with the American Red Cross for eight years. Kendra’s heart is drawn towards working with humanitarian organizations and has served as a medical social worker for the Vermont Dept. of Health, a Public Relations Specialist for Meals on Wheels, as well as working to support underserved populations in both Vermont and Illinois. Kendra is proud to serve the Illinois Region as the Volunteer Services Officer and believes firmly in our incredibly giving, talented, and compassionate volunteer workforce!
Heidi joined the Red Cross in 2001 serving in several development roles in the organization before being named CDO in 2008. She has managed direct marketing, annual giving and special events programs and has led the marketing and communications team. She launched the Heroes Breakfast which brings significant support and visibility to the Region, and is now an annual event. Before joining the Red Cross Heidi served as associate director of annual events at the Newberry Library in Chicago
Catherine Rabenstine joined the American Red Cross in 2016 and became the Chief Operating Officer of the Illinois Region in 2018. As a Red Crosser, Cat has deployed as a Public Information Officer to support the response for Hurricane Matthew, Hurricane Irma, as well as local tornado and flooding disasters. Most recently she deployed as the Chief of Staff of the Hurricane Ida response in Louisiana. She is a member of the COO Forum, and has served on the board of Public Narrative and as a coach for students with One Million Degrees. Cat has worked in nonprofits since 2004, teaching journalism courses for a year in the West Bank, helping build a service learning and study trips program in Rome for a few years, partnering with people experiencing homelessness to help them transform their lives at Cara Chicago, teaching English for a year in southern India, and coordinating a conservation leadership training program in the Pacific NW. Cat earned her bachelor’s degree in English and Peace Studies from Loyola University Chicago, and her master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University.
Inspired by the 20+ year volunteerism of her parents, Erin Craghead joined the Red Cross in 2010. For the past 14 years, Erin has held numerous roles within the Development Office and most recently as the Regional Development Director working with donors to raise critical funds in support of the Red Cross mission.
In her role as Interim Regional Disaster Officer, Erin will lead relief operations across the state’s 88-county service area bringing all aspects of the disaster cycle, from preparedness to response to recovery to those impacted by home fires, tornadoes, floods, seasonal storms, and other disasters. In addition to Disaster Services, Erin oversees Community Education/Preparedness and Community Partnership programs in the Illinois region.
Erin acquired her love for the lifesaving mission of the American Red Cross at an early age as she accompanied her parents to meet the immediate needs of families impacted by home fires in their Mid-Missouri community. As a teenager, Erin became certified as a Red Cross lifeguard and ran the American Red Cross swim program in her county.
Brian joined the American Red Cross in 2019 as Executive Director of the Illinois River Valley Chapter. He has experience in disaster assessment, mass care and shelter management. Brian has also completed courses at FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Maryland.Prior to joining the Red Cross, Brian was Deputy Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer for Will County Treasurer’s office, where he worked closely with banking partners to implement treasury solutions for the public and county agencies. Brian has a bachelor’s degree in Economics, and holds two master’s degrees, in Accounting and Business Administration from Benedictine University.
Joy is a seasoned marketing and communications executive who oversees all communications and marketing functions including traditional and social media relations, government affairs, events marketing and programs, and internal communications for the organization. Joy is a national spokesperson for the American Red Cross. Previously, she served as Director of Field Marketing for the Top Ten Regions of the Red Cross, where she oversaw the planning and development of integrated marketing and communications strategies and programs for the largest regions within the Red Cross. Prior to joining the Red Cross, Joy was the Director of Marketing and Communications at Waste Management leading the $4B Public Sector and Recycling business segments' strategic marketing and communications initiatives. She also gained valuable expertise at Hewlett Packard charged with directing marketing and communications strategy and execution for category-leading and award-winning consumer product lines. Joy holds an MBA in marketing from the Kellogg Graduate School of Business at Northwestern University and is a graduate of the University of Illinois, with a degree in advertising.