Mark Thomas | Interim Chief Executive Officer
Kendra Henson | Regional Volunteer Services Officer
Heidi Mucha | Regional Chief Development Officer
Catherine Rabenstine | Regional Chief Operating Officer
Adam Runkle | Regional Disaster Officer
Crystal Smith | 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
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.
Kendra Henson
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 Mucha
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
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.
Adam Runkle
Adam Runkle joined the American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois in 2009 and served in senior management roles before being named RDO in 2018. In April of 2020, he became the new Illinois region’s Disaster Officer across an 88-county service area. In this role, Adam leads our region’s Disaster Cycle Services team across a 21-county service area. With this team, he works to strengthen the capacity of the Red Cross in all aspects of the disaster cycle, from preparedness to response to recovery. Adam came to our region from California where he was the Planning & External Relations Manager for the Greater Los Angeles Region from 2008-2009. Prior to his work in LA, Adam was with the American Red Cross based out of New York City from 2006 to 2008. His service dates back to 2005 when he found his passion for the Red Cross as a volunteer supporting families affected by Hurricane Katrina. During his time with the Red Cross, Adam has helped lead dozens of relief operations across the country and currently serves as a Deputy Director on the Divisional Response Management Team for the North Central Division. Most recently, he served as the Deputy Director for the statewide response in Florida following Hurricane Irma. Here at home, Adam has been the job director for numerous relief operations which included responses to historic flooding, tornados, winter storms, mass casualty events, and more. Over the course of his career he has also responded to hundreds of home fires and has managed over fifty emergency shelters. Before joining the Red Cross, Adam worked with the Southeastern Alaska Guidance Association where he led team of AmeriCorps volunteers on remote conservation projects with the US Park and Forest Services.
Crystal Smith
Crystal joined the disaster team at the American Red Cross in 2014 and became the Service to Armed Forces & International Services Director in 2016. In this role, she oversees the SAF and IS programs throughout Illinois. Crystal manages a team that provides outreach, emergency communications, and resiliency programs throughout the region. Additionally, she works closely with the Illinois National Guard to provide support to military members and their families throughout the deployment cycle. She has helped facilitate and launch networking groups for organizations supporting military and veterans throughout the state. As the Disaster Program Manager in Central Illinois from 2014-2015, Crystal managed relationships with community partners, assisted with community disaster planning, and oversaw disaster responses throughout Central Illinois.
Joy Squier
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.
Peggy Hardek, Board Chair | PwC
Liz Aguinaga | CNA
Lisa Badgley | Community Volunteer
Brenda Battle | University of Chicago Medicine
Louie Binswanger | ComEd
Hilary Chidi | TransUnion
Diane Earll | USG
Sara Enlow | CDW
Janel Forde | Boston Consulting Group
Patrick Gallagher | Gallagher Canada, Gallagher Latin America
Markus Glueck | ITW
Louis Hobson | Chubb
Harsh Koppula | TADA
Mary Ann Korenic | Wintrust
Daniella Levitt | Corporate Leadership Center
Laura Linger | William Blair & Company
Dr. A. Kyle Mack | Lurie Children's Hospital
Alyson Margulies | US Foods Corporation
Monica Mueller | Motorola Solutions
Mike Neller | Aon
Linda Nolan | Northern Trust
Susan Noyes | Better Media Group/Make it Better Foundation
Meredith O'Connor | JLL
Peter Petros | Daniel J. Edelman Holdings, Inc.
Laura Rock | Zurich North America
Chandler Root | Merrill Lynch Wealth Management
Jill Schaaf | Baxter Healthcare
Cheryl Scott | ABC-7 TV
Kristen Seeger | Sidley Austin LLP
Kelly Soljacich | LaSalle Investment Management
Sara Spiering | Heidrick & Struggles
Alicia Tate-Nadeau | Illinois Emergency Management Agency
Joyce Trimuel | Trimuel Enterprises
Tom Walsh | Deloitte Consulting
Jon-Micheal Wheat | Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Vicki Znavor | UBU, LLC
Aileen Blake
Bob Chodos
Brian Cook
Deirdre Drake
Thoedore Dysart
John Grube
Grant Hellwarth
Jay Bergman
Janis Tratnik
James Unerstall
Jamie Wildman
Sarah Herczog, Guaranteed Rate | Executive Leadership Chair
Maggie McNally, JDRF | Mission & Membership Chair
Katie Casey, Horizon Therapeutics | Mingling Co-Chair