Health and Safety Services Executive Bios

Scott Conner
Vice President
Health, Safety and Community Services

Deborah Dorsa Carman, RN, MNSc
Volunteer Chair
Health, Safety and Community Services

Inga Jelescheff
Operations Officer
Health, Safety and Community Services

Steven O. Denne
Senior Director
Health and Safety Services Operations

Adrienne Hurt
Volunteer Chair
Health and Safety Services

Don Vardell
Director
Research and Product Development

Darlene Sparks Washington
Director
Disease Prevention Education

Scott Conner, Vice President, Health, Safety and Community Services, brings over 25 years of executive marketing and operating experience along with a reputation as a motivator who can anticipate marketplace changes and plan accordingly. Scott has a Bachelor's degree from Cornell University and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business. Scott began his career with the Campbell Soup Company working in various sales and marketing capacities including a product line brand manager. He spent the majority of the rest of his career in the franchise restaurant industry - 15 years in Kentucky Fried Chicken and Burger King serving as Vice President, Marketing; Vice President, Regional Operations and Executive Vice President of Franchising.

On May 4, 1999, Scott was appointed Vice President, Health, Safety and Community Services, for the American National Red Cross. This position entails developing and directing strategic direction for the Health and Safety Line of Service and supporting the Chapter Services Delivery Network (CSDN).

Scott lives in Vienna, Virginia with his wife, Lynda, who is a Fairfax County schoolteacher and a locally active Red Cross volunteer.

Deborah Carman, RN, MNSc, Volunteer Chair, was appointed the National Chair of Health, Safety and Community Services on July 1, 2000. Mrs. Carman is currently a member of the Clinical Faculty as an instructor of Pediatric Nursing at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, College of Nursing in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Mrs. Carman has been a Red Cross volunteer for over 30 years. She is an immediate past member of the National Board of Governors where she served as the Chairman of Disaster and Chapter Services, was a member of the Executive Committee and the Biomedical Board at NHQ. Prior to that Mrs. Carman was the Chairman of her local chapter board and blood region in Little Rock and then served on the Southwest Regional Committee. While on the BoG, she was the liaison to the National Nursing Committee and Senior Advisor to the Chief Nurse.

She has been instructor and /or instructor trainer qualified in the following: CPR for Professional Rescuer, First Aid, Infant/Child CPR, Home Nursing, Disaster Health Services, Water Safety Instructor, Lifeguard Training, Baby-sitting, Parenting, Preparation for Parenthood, Basic Aid Training (BAT) and AIDS education.

Mrs. Carman has received numerous awards and recognition over her career. At the ARC National Convention 2000, she received the Cynthia Wedel Award for distinguished volunteer service.

Inga Jelescheff, Operations Officer, is currently serving as the operations officer for Health, Safety and Community Services. As such, she is Scott Conner's chief of staff and provides support to the office of senior vice president, Service Delivery and Field Support.

Inga's experience with the American Red Cross includes both paid and volunteer leadership. She served as station chairman at Yokota Air Force Base in Japan, AFES HUB chairman for the Asian-Pacific HUB, AFES HUB manager for the Colonial America HUB and as a manager in Health and Safety Services Operations at national headquarters.

Inga attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas, the University of Maryland and the Northwest Montessori Teacher's College in Bellevue, Washington. She received teaching certification in English as a Second Language, and later taught at a university in Tokyo, Japan. She also taught time/stress management and effective communication skills for the United States Air Force at various bases around the pacific region.

Steve Denne, Senior Director, Health and Safety Services Operations, has served in this position since May 1999.

After working for state and local government in Ohio, Steve joined the Red Cross in Columbus, Ohio in 1981 as a state relations specialist. He moved to the corporate planning staff at national headquarters in 1986. From 1990-1991 he was loaned to the Department of Defense for a special eighteen-month Pentagon assignment with the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Force Management and Personnel. In 1991, he returned to national headquarters as the officer of Planning and Administration responsible for general administration, strategic program planning and staff support to the senior vice president, Chapter Services. In 1994, he joined Chapter Operations Administration as the director of Service Delivery Research and Support. He was appointed director of Administration and Evaluation when Chapter Operations Administration was combined with Health and Safety Services in October 1997.

Steve has a B.A. in Economics and English from Denison University (Ohio), and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.

Adrienne Hurt, Volunteer Chair, Health and Safety Services, is currently the director of Graduate Programs for the Foster College of Business Administration at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. In that position, she instituted a customer-focused marketing approach to the administration of the MBA program which resulted in increased applications, admissions and enrollments. Adrienne also serves as adjunct faculty with The Leadership Development center in Peoria and has facilitated team-focused workshops and seminars for middle and upper management. Prior to her work with Bradley, she was Marketing manager and the Finance and Planning manager for The Leadership Development Center where she developed corporate marketing plans, and resource and budget plans.

Adrienne began her life as a Red Cross volunteer as a Water Safety instructor in 1977. Over the years, she has trained numerous Water Safety instructors and Lifeguarding instructors in her position as an instructor trainer in both programs. Adrienne served on the Board of Directors for the Central Illinois Chapter as vice chairman of Health Services and member of the Executive Committee. On the state level, Adrienne has volunteered her time as a member of the Illinois State Service Council since 1992 and chaired the Council from 1995-1996. Adrienne also chaired the state Strategic Planning Committee and served on the state Health and Safety Advisory Committee.

For her service to Red Cross and her community, Adrienne has received numerous awards including Women of Achievement Award, Health Services Volunteer of the Year Award and Red Cross Leadership Award.

Don Vardell: Director, Research and Product Development. His division has responsibility for the new product/service development process and technical direction for all Red Cross Health and Safety Services programs including new technology initiatives, revisions to the existing product line and supporting the portfolio management process. In 1995, Don began his paid staff affiliation in the Educational Development unit in the Health and Safety Services department at NHQ. In 1999, Don was appointed senior operations analyst for the acting vice president of Chapter Operations performing special assignments and chief of staff functions. As the scope and accountability of the position increased, Don was promoted to operations officer in 1999. He supported and led human resources procedures, budgeting operations, strategic/tactical planning and administration duties for the Health, Safety and Community Services department. As an active Red Cross volunteer, Don serves on chapter health and safety committees and the Alexandria Waterfront Festival Executive Committee for the Alexandria, VA chapter. Don maintains active instructor trainer (IT) authorizations in Lifeguarding, First Aid and CPR as well as Pet First Aid and is a member of the Northern Virginia Zone IT Training Cadre. Don is a graduate of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville with a BA in Psychology and an MS in Recreation Administration.

Darlene Washington, Director, Disease Prevention Education, was recently appointed the director of the new Disease Prevention Education division in the Health, Safety and Community Services Department at national headquarters. Prior to that appointment, she was the manager of the Customer Support Unit. Darlene had responsibility for the team of staff who provides technical assistance to the 1100+ domestic and international Red Cross chapters and stations in the areas of CPR, first aid, aquatics, caregiving and HIV/AIDS prevention. Darlene joined the American Red Cross in 1988 as a volunteer at the Tidewater Chapter (VA). In 1989, she accepted a paid position with the chapter as Project C.A.R.E. (Community Action Response Education) coordinator, an outreach program that brought the Red Cross menu of Health and Safety course offerings to African American communities. Darlene has also served as the program coordinator for the African American HIV/AIDS Program at national headquarters. Dr. Washington received her undergraduate degree in biology, pre-med from Hampton Institute in 1978 and received her doctorate in Podiatric Medicine from the New York College of Podiatric Medicine in 1986. She is a 1997 American Red Cross President's Fund Ambassador Award recipient for outstanding accomplishment in Cultural Diversity.