Celena Roldán Sarillo is the CEO of the Illinois Region of the American Red Cross, having joined the organization in March of 2016. The Illinois Region is the second largest region of the Red Cross, with an annual budget of $28M, serving 88 counties and having more than 3,500 dedicated volunteers. Annually, this region responds to approximately 2,000 disasters and teaches health, safety and disaster preparedness skills to 100,000 people. Roldán Sarillo has served in various leadership roles for the American Red Cross, including as an elected official liaison deployed to engage government officials in disaster impacted areas, and as a co-founder of the American Red Cross Latino Engagement Initiative.

Prior to joining Red Cross, Roldán Sarillo served as the Executive Director of Erie Neighborhood House, founded to strengthen low-income, primarily Latino families through skill-building, access to critical resources, advocacy, and collaborative action.

Roldán Sarillo has extensive and significant community development experience at the city and state level. In 2018, Roldán Sarillo served as a co-chair for the City of Chicago Universal Basic Income Task Force. She also served on Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Education Transition Team and the Mayor’s Early Childhood Task Force, and in 2014, was appointed by Mayor Emanuel to the City of Chicago’s Community Development Commission.  

In 2011, Roldán Sarillo was a Leadership Greater Chicago fellow. In 2015, she participated in the German Marshall Memorial Fellowship, a month-long leadership development program in Europe focused on fostering the transatlantic relationship of the U.S. and Europe, she was selected as a fellow in the 2017 CEO Perspectives program, a nationally-recognized program that fosters and accelerates business leadership development.

Currently, Roldán Sarillo serves as a board member for National Louis University and is the past board chair for Illinois Action for Children. In 2019, she was named to the board of directors for Wintrust Wealth Management and was elected to The Robert R. McCormick Foundation Board.

Most recently, Roldán Sarillo was recognized by the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Social Work with their 2021 Distinguished Alumni Award. Roldán was also named as one of Chicago’s “Most Powerful Latinos,” on the 2019 Crain’s Chicago Business inaugural list. Roldán Sarillo was also honored by the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago as the 2016 Community Leader of the Year.

Roldán Sarillo holds a master's degree in early childhood administration from National Louis University, as well as master’s and bachelor’s degrees in social work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  She lives in Chicago with her husband and has a son at Saint Louis University. 

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.

A Chicago native and proud son of Mexican immigrant parents, Rodrigo’s grandfather taught him what it means to be of service at an early age, which led Rodrigo to a public service career. With a unique blend of non-profit, private, and government experience, Rodrigo embodies an inclusive, empowering, and energetic leadership style that celebrates everyone’s unique qualities. Before joining the Red Cross, Rodrigo was an employee with the State of Illinois.

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.