A humanitarian at heart, Jennifer Pipa began her 15-year career with the American Red Cross as a Disaster Action Team volunteer in North Carolina, helping families impacted by home fires and other emergencies. She continues it this month as CEO of Georgia’s Red Cross, responsible for leading mission delivery to more than 10 million people across 159 counties in one of the most disaster-prone states in the nation.

Last year, Georgia’s Red Cross provided disaster assistance for 15,596 families; taught First Aid/CPR/AED and preparedness classes to 53,348 people; provided emergency casework services for 24,514 members of the military; installed 13,390 free smoke alarms in homes that needed them and collected 201,437 units of life-saving blood.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the Georgia Red Cross team,” said Pipa, who most recently served as CEO of Central Florida’s Red Cross, headquartered in Tampa. “The employees and volunteers in Georgia are known for their extraordinary dedication and I’m proud to support them as they continue to deliver vital services to neighbors here and across the country.”

Prior to Pipa’s arrival on January 2nd, Red Cross leader Terri Badour served in a dual role as both the CEO of Georgia and Executive Director for the 12 counties served by Metro Atlanta’s Red Cross. With the addition of Pipa, the roles have been split. Badour will focus on meeting the significant leadership demands of the metro Atlanta area while Pipa will focus on the big picture needs of Georgia.

On Monday, Pipa began her first full week on the job at Georgia Region Headquarters in Atlanta by donating blood. A long-time blood donor, she surpassed the 30-gallon mark with her donation, a proud milestone for National Blood Donor Month. In addition to donating blood regularly, Pipa was an active Junior League volunteer in Florida, helping to provide shelf-stable meals for children in five schools. She plans to continue her work with the Junior League.

“I’m a huge proponent of Red Cross employees and volunteers volunteering for other organizations,” said Pipa.  “I think [volunteering] makes us better people.”

Additional highlights from Pipa’s career include serving as the Director of Volunteer Mobilization and Support at American Red Cross headquarters. She also helped lead response efforts after hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria in 2017 and testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Red Cross role in long-term recovery efforts in 2018.