MEDIA CONTACT: Alicia Dorr
alicia.dorr@redcross.org | 616-306-8040

DETROIT (Aug. 31, 2022) – The American Red Cross Michigan Region has named five new members to the Board of Directors for its Southeast Michigan Chapter. Stephanie Jones, Dr. Hedwig Murphy, Giovanni Pincetti, Michael Sage and Katie Wendt bring accomplished backgrounds in automotive, energy, finance and medicine to the chapter, which is headquartered in Detroit. Each member will serve for three years.

“We are incredibly pleased to welcome our new board members,” said Mary Lynn Foster, regional chief executive officer. “They are phenomenal leaders in their industry and have a life-long commitment to service. We look forward to their contributions in helping us advance the mission of the Red Cross.”

The new members expand the total membership of the board to 21 members. Meet the new members:

• Stephanie Jones is Lead Counsel for electric vehicle growth operations at General Motors. In this leadership role, she provides legal and strategic guidance in support of GM’s EV expansion, charging infrastructure, stationary storage, battery sustainability and work with utilities. Stephanie is a board member and chair of the fundraising committee for the National Bar Institute, a board member and chair of two committees for the Neighborhood Service Organization, vice president of membership for the Renaissance (MI) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, and a member of the nurturer’s committee of the Empowerment Church. Her first experience with the Red Cross came in high school when she served as a volunteer.
• Dr. Hedwig Murphy has a long and distinguished career in medicine, during which she served as a leader of the Anatomic Pathology Laboratory in the VA Ann Arbor Health System and as a clinical associate professor at the University of Michigan. Dr. Murphy has authored several books and book chapters, and her work has been published extensively in peer-reviewed papers. She received an excellence in teaching award from the university’s medical school in 2004 in recognition of her mentoring of medial residents and students before retiring as a clinical associate professor emerita of pathology in 2020. Dr. Murphy’s appointment to the board is the latest in a series of positions she has held with the Red Cross for more than 15 years. Previously she was a board member of the organization’s former Washtenaw County Chapter and served as a volunteer physician medical director.
• Giovanni Pincetti is finance director responsible for US vehicle pricing at General Motors.  In his tenure at GM, he has served in a variety of finance leadership positions with increasing responsibility for driving business growth and successfully launching new vehicles. Prior to joining GM, Giovanni worked on a joint venture between GM and Fiat. He also held leadership positions at a globally recognized Italian shipbuilding company. Giovanni’s first experience with the Red Cross was in Italy, from which he hails, where his father worked as a physician in a local Italian Red Cross clinic, and he has been dedicated to service ever since.
• Michael Sage is regional manager at DTE Energy and a long-time Red Cross blood donor. In his role at DTE, Michael oversees a variety of leading-edge energy projects and strategic community partnerships. He has decades of experience developing new wind and solar initiatives and working on major construction projects. He is a three-time recipient of exceptional customer service awards and a three-time honoree as a top performer by senior management. He has also served as a change agent for DTE’s diversity program and as a facilitator for the company’s peer advisor program to help at-risk DTE employees. Active in his community, Michael is the financial secretary for the Knights of Columbus Council in Howell. He also served two terms as board president for Habitat for Humanity of Western Wayne County.
• Kathleen (Katie) Wendt is a certified public accountant and former executive vice president and chief accounting officer for Detroit-based TCF Financial Corp. In this role she managed 90 employees across two states in Michigan and Minnesota. As a member of the senior leadership team, she was the lead finance officer in TCF’s recent merger with Huntington Bancshares, Inc. in 2021 and Chemical Bank in 2019. Katie has held several executive and senior leadership roles throughout her finance career, which included positions at Comerica Incorporated and PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP. She is a member of the American Bankers Association Accounting Administrative Committee and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

About the American Red Cross
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information please visit RedCross.org/local/Michigan or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @MIRedCross.