Alicia Doherty is the Regional Executive of the American Red Cross of Georgia which serves about 10 million people across 159 counties with the support of a large volunteer workforce, blood and financial donors, and community partners. Previously, Doherty was the Regional Donor Services Executive for Georgia, within Biomedical Services of the Red Cross, overseeing blood drive operations and whole blood collections. She also served as the Director of National Accounts. She started her career at the Red Cross in 2005 in Volunteer Services before transitioning to Donor Recruitment, where she held various positions.

Actively involved in her community, Doherty currently serves on the board of directors for the Douglas County Chamber of Commerce. She is a graduate of the Douglas County Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program class of 2010 and served as co-chair of the program in 2012. She was on the board of directors for S.H.A.R.E. House, a family violence crisis center in Douglasville, GA.

Doherty earned her Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science from Georgia State University. She was a student-athlete at Georgia State where she was a captain on the women’s basketball team and a dean’s list honoree.

Jill Deskins serves as the Regional Volunteer Services Officer for the Georgia Region. She is an experienced, compassionate nonprofit leader who has spent more than 20 years in the industry.

Deskins started with the American Red Cross in 1999 as a volunteer and became an employee in 2000. Her first nonprofit leadership role was as Executive Director for a local Red Cross Chapter in New York State. Since joining the nonprofit field, she has held several different positions including Emergency Services Director, Preparedness Manager and Disaster Program Manager. 

In 2016, Deskins switched her focus to the increasingly important role of supporting volunteers and took on the position of Regional Volunteer Services Officer for the Western and Central New York Region. In 2018, Deskins moved to Georgia in the same role and is responsible for the support of over 3,000 volunteers and leaders of volunteers for one of the top mission-driven regions in the United States.

Her passion is building strong teams and developing and mentoring others to become effective leaders. She has been a Certified Volunteer Administrator since 2020 and currently resides in Canton, Georgia.

Carla Dillard Homer has been the American Red Cross of Georgia’s Chief Operating Officer since 2013. Her responsibilities include oversight of the region’s general operations including expense budget, facilities, vehicle fleet management and safety. 

She started with the American Red Cross in the Metropolitan New Jersey Chapter in 1995 as Chief Financial Officer and then became Chief Operating Officer. Dillard Homer went on to lead strategy and operational planning for various business units within AT&T/BellSouth. While working in the corporate sector she maintained her passion for serving the mission of nonprofits, managing various corporate community service campaigns for Bellsouth including Junior Achievement, The Woodruff Arts Center, United Way, March of Dimes and the Red Cross. Dillard Homer also began her own company, consulting for organizations in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors for several years.

Actively involved in her community, Dillard Homer serves as Board Treasurer of the YWCA of Greater Atlanta and Teen Lead Advisor for the Atlanta Chapter of Jack and Jill. She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

Dillard Homer is a graduate of Howard University with a Bachelor of Business Administration. She earned her MBA from the University of Michigan and maintains numerous certifications including project management and Six Sigma Green Belt.

Dillard Homer resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and two children.

Adelaide Bush Kirk is the Regional Disaster Officer for the American Red Cross of Georgia. In this role, Kirk oversees all regional preparedness and response teams, programs and services. She joined the organization in 2014 as the Executive Director of the Southwest Georgia Chapter. Kirk has deployed more than 20 times on disaster operations across the country. She also serves on the Executive Committee for the Leadership Program of the Southeast and Caribbean Division of the Red Cross. Prior to joining the Red Cross, Kirk had an extensive career in media marketing and advertising sales.

She is currently a member of the Rotary Club of Columbus and served on the board of the United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley for six years. Kirk graduated from Berry College with a Bachelor of Arts and earned her Master of Business Administration from Columbus State University.

She is a native and lifelong resident of Columbus, living in Harris County with her husband, Duke, and their Maltese, Ghost. They have two grown children: Alston, a CPA/Financial Analyst, and Landon, a U.S. Army Ranger. 

Tiera Patterson is the Service to the Armed Forces and International Services Director for the American Red Cross of Georgia. She joined the team in October 2023. In this role, Patterson oversees Red Cross support to members of the military, veterans and their families in Georgia as they prepare for, cope with, and respond to the challenges of military service.

Patterson developed a passion for supporting service members while spending several years with the nonprofit United Services Organizations Inc. (USO) in Okinawa, Japan, and Yokosuka, Japan. From there, she served with the U.S. Navy’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) program in San Diego, on board the USS Boxer as their Afloat Recreation Specialist, aka ‘Fun Boss.’ She was also stationed at the U.S. Navy base in Sasebo, Japan, where she completed two deployments on the USS America.

Returning stateside in 2022, Patterson continued to serve the families of service members, veterans, and volunteers with the nonprofit Operation Homefront.

Patterson is a new addition to the Red Cross of Georgia’s Pride, Women’s and Umoja resource groups.

Patterson studied theatre production and performance in high school, at Gallery 37 Center for the Arts in Chicago and went on to hone her craft at the University of Illinois Chicago.

Katie Baratone Zwerk is the Regional Communications Director for the American Red Cross of Georgia. She joined the team in September 2022. In this role, Zwerk determines and executes a strategic communications plan both internally and externally throughout the state; collaborating with all lines of service to share the mission of the Red Cross. This includes a focus on media relations and social media strategy to educate the public about Red Cross services.

Zwerk is an Emmy Award-winning former Senior Producer who worked at CNN for nearly 17 years. She was responsible for producing daily live newscasts and coordinating breaking news coverage on both a national and global scale. During her time at CNN, Zwerk helped lead a team of journalists and covered various stories impacting the world including the September 11 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina, the Arab Spring and numerous presidential elections.

Zwerk earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Michigan University. While there, she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa honor society and a member of the Golden Key. Zwerk also served as president of the local chapter of Sigma Kappa Sorority. She is a proud mom to three kids and resides in Woodstock, Georgia.