The Northern California Coastal Region welcomed new Regional Chief Executive Officer Hanna Malak in July 2022. Most recently, he served as the Regional Donor Services Executive for the Western New York Blood Services Region and brings more than a decade of leadership and Red Cross experience to his new role.  

Hanna began his Red Cross journey in 2009 as a participant in the Red Cross Collegiate Leadership Program. He spent two weeks in Washington, D.C. at the National Headquarters, learning to plan blood drives and recruit donors on his college campus. During this time, he also started a Red Cross club at his alma mater, Menlo College in California, joined the National Youth Council, and served on the Board of Directors in the Northern California Blood Services Region for two years. Hanna’s name even appeared on Greg Biffle’s #16 Red Cross NASCAR representing the Northern California Blood Region in 2012 in recognition of his outstanding volunteer work with the Red Cross.  

He then transitioned from Red Cross volunteer to employee in 2012 as a Senior Account Manager with the Blood Services Donor Recruitment team; from there he served as an Advisor to the National Youth Council and was selected for the competitive Red Cross Leadership Education And Development (LEAD) program. 

In January 2017, he joined the regional development team in San Francisco, working with corporate donors in the Bay Area. Later that year, he relocated to Portland, Oregon to serve as the Regional Volunteer Services Officer (RVSO) in the Cascades Region; he led a team of paid staff, volunteers, AmeriCorps and interns serving the state of Oregon and Southwest Washington.  

Most recently, Hanna served as the Regional Donor Services Executive for the Western New York Blood Services Region, where he oversaw the development and execution of the region’s operational plan for expansion of efficient blood collections, continuous improvements in quality and safety, and increasing blood donor and sponsor satisfaction. 

Hanna is a Red Cross Advanced Public Affairs Team (APAT) member and has deployed to multiple disaster response operations, including California wildfires. He is a committed blood donor with more than 100 donations to date, and volunteers as a mentor for the Latino Resource Group. 

Hanna serves on the Boards of Directors for Okizu, a Northern California non-profit organization that supports families affected by childhood cancer, the Medically Fragile Children’s Foundation in San Jose, and Junipero Serra Highschool, a Catholic college preparatory high school in San Mateo, Calif. A San Mateo native, Hanna received his bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Menlo College and his master’s degree in Business Administration from Notre Dame de Namur.

Amy joined the American Red Cross in 2019 as a Regional Philanthropy Officer on the Individual Gifts team. In 2020, she was promoted to Director of Development, first managing the Foundation segment, and was a proud leader on the team awarded the 2021 Presidential Award for Excellence. In October 2022, Amy shifted to manage the Individual Gifts team, where she managed a team of eight to grow giving from individuals and family foundations. In 2024, she was promoted to Regional Chief Development Officer and is honored to lead a team of twenty-two talented fundraising professionals to power the mission of the Red Cross.

Amy earned her bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Cincinnati, graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. She comes from a family of three generations of firefighters and is a proud Sound the Alarm volunteer and advocate. Amy lives with her husband, Malcolm, and their two boys in Berkeley, California.

As the Regional Disaster Officer, John Ruiz leads a team of 19 full time staff and over 1,000 volunteers in response and preparedness programs for the American Red Cross Northern California Coastal Region.

John started his Red Cross career in 2005 as the Community Disaster Program Manager in San Francisco for the Bay Area Chapter. Soon after, he was promoted to Deputy Director in 2007 before taking a job with National Headquarters as the Red Cross Government Liaison Officer for FEMA Region 9 in 2011. In this role John managed the Red Cross relationship with FEMA, the State of California, and other statewide partners. John left the Red Cross in 2013 to work for the UC Berkeley as the campus Emergency Management Coordinator where he oversaw the Building Coordinator Program, lead planning and training efforts, and established a new campus Emergency Operations Center. John returned to the Red Cross in 2016 as the Regional Disaster Officer and has since built a program that is seen as a national leader in the development of leadership volunteers.

John is a graduate of UC Berkeley and holds a master’s degree in public administration from San Francisco State University.

Jonathan has been with the American Red Cross since 2012, first joining as a volunteer to support the Silicon Valley Chapter’s youth services program. This seemingly small decision would lead him to accept a position with the AmeriCorps program in October of the same year. This in turn led to joining the regional Volunteer Services team as an employee, after discovering a passion to support the people behind the Red Cross mission.

Now leading the regional Volunteer Services team, Jonathan leads a team of six specialists responsible for the Northern California Coastal Region’s recruitment, placement, and engagement of the region’s 6000+ adult and youth volunteers.

Originally from Matane, Quebec, Canada, Jonathan immigrated to the US in 2021. He lives in San Jose with his spouse.

Justin is the Biomedical Services, Regional Donor Services Executive for the Northern California Coastal Region. The American Red Cross’ Biomedical Services mission is to fulfill the need for safe, reliable, and cost-effective blood products and services. The Red Cross is the largest single supplier of blood and blood products in the United States and thus plays a leading role in protecting the safety of donors and patients. Justin contributes to the mission by ensuring that the necessary red blood cell products are collected safely and efficiently within the Region to supply the needs of hospitals and the community at large.

Justin has been with the Red Cross since 2006 and has served in several roles within the Northern California Biomedical Services Region. He is a regular whole blood, platelet, and plasma donor and has personally donated more than 200 units of blood products.

Nikki (she/her) joined the Red Cross in early 2018 as the Disaster Program Manager for the Silicon Valley Chapter. After serving in that role for 3 years, she was promoted to Regional Program Manager for Service to the Armed Forces and International Services. In this role, Nikki manages Red Cross programs supporting military members, veterans, and their families, including hospital programs in the David Grant Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base and local VA clinics. Nikki also manages International Humanitarian Law education, including a peer-to-peer youth education program, across the Northern California Coastal Region. Nikki has a background in law and volunteer management, and prior to working at the Red Cross worked for Oxfam Ireland in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Nikki grew up in New Zealand and is a passionate outdoors person who loves spending her weekends hiking and camping.

Pooja has 15 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and currently serves as the Regional Communications Director for the American Red Cross Northern California Coastal Region. She is responsible for overseeing field, visual, crisis and internal communications, leading a team of staff, board members, and over 60 Communications volunteers to amplify the Red Cross mission.

Pooja began her Red Cross career in 2009 as an intern with the Orange County Chapter, later joining the Silicon Valley Chapter as an AmeriCorps member, where she coordinated disaster training and volunteer services. She went on to serve as the region’s Marketing Program Manager, developing materials that reached over 8 million people and managing a team of 25 volunteers. As the Special Events Manager, she led impactful fundraising events that contributed to achieving the region’s $1.5 million annual event goal, while playing a key role in planning division and national Red Cross events and conferences.

Outside of her Red Cross work, Pooja has worked with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, where she continues to volunteer in leadership roles. In her free time, you can catch her spending time with family, organizing themed parties, skiing in Tahoe, teaching dance, and exploring the world.

Steph has over 25 years of experience in development, operations and fundraising, with both global and local non-profits. Joining the American Red Cross in 2014 – Steph initially led the Foundations, Grants and Development Operations teams and in April 2020 transitioned to leading the Corporate Partnerships team. In April 2023 Steph was hired into her current role, working with a team of 40 employees and volunteers to deliver the operational platform necessary to support all lines of service and business. Alongside this powerhouse Operations Team, Steph is responsible for Financial Budgeting, Administration & Reporting; Facility Management of 26 sites; Fleet Management of 140 Vehicles & Trailers; Real Estate Initiatives; Safety & Security; Procurement; Coordination of IT, Phone & Mail Systems; Sustainability Initiatives & Special Projects.

Steph is fluent in French and Spanish and volunteers with the Red Cross in the lifesaving Sound the Alarm program and as an International Humanitarian Law trainer.

Felicia serves as the CEO of the Heart Valley Chapter of the Red Cross, where she leads strategic initiatives and operations across San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Merced Counties. Since joining the Red Cross in 2019 as Recruitment Manager in Volunteer Services, she quickly demonstrated her ability to drive results, earning a promotion to CEO in 2022. A cum laude graduate of the University of the Pacific, Felicia is deeply committed to community leadership. She holds prominent roles as a member of Ujoma and Co-Chair of the IBEA Task Force, where she fosters collaboration and advocates for equity and empowerment.

With over a decade of experience in human resources and management, Felicia is a seasoned leader known for her dedication to building strong partnerships and creating mentorship opportunities. Her leadership style is centered on driving innovation, inspiring teams, and ensuring the communities she serves have access to critical resources.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Felicia is passionate about continuous learning, travel, and spending time with her family, all of which fuel her commitment to making a lasting impact in the world.

Ken Toren is eternally grateful to have been rescued by his wife, kids, and his best friend…adopted dog Teo.

He has held a variety of executive roles as CEO, co-founder, Board Member, advisor, and investor. His non-profit experience includes management of multi-cultural community centers; local, national, and global humanitarian organizations; services for the developmentally disabled; and research, clinical trials, medical and support programs for patients with Parkinson’s disease, Dementia, Cancer, and Asthma/COPD. His roles have included CEO of Silicon Valley Red Cross, Executive Director of Parkinson's Institute and Cancer CAREpoint, VP at Hope Services, and Director of Development at UCSF (University of California at San Francisco). Ken has led and supported non-profit fund-raising campaigns totaling $550 million+ and served as Board member/President at the YMCA, national JCC’s/Federations, State of California Department of Developmental Services agencies, NOVA (a federally funded employment and training program), and KCAT Public Media. In the for-profit sector, Ken has served as CEO, co-founder and VP in companies and start-ups providing enterprise software and consumer applications in healthcare, CRM/marketing automation, security, system integration and financial services. He has raised venture capital investments of $20m+, and led sales, marketing, business development, and successful M&As.

Ken holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the College of Public Health and College of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management at Pennsylvania State University and Temple University. Go Phillies, Eagles, 76ers and Flyers.

Michele Averill is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Central Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross, a position she has held since 2014. In this role, Michele leads a dedicated team of six employees and nearly 400 local volunteers, serving the Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito Counties. Together, they provide essential disaster relief and humanitarian services to a community of approximately 750,000 residents. 

In addition to overseeing day-to-day operations, Michele collaborates with a Board of Directors comprising 20 community leaders to advance the Red Cross's mission. Under her leadership, the Central Coast Chapter continues to build resilience and deliver vital resources to those in need. 

Michele's passion for community service is deeply rooted, having grown up in Corralitos, Santa Cruz County. She finds her work especially rewarding, knowing that the efforts of the Red Cross impact the lives of so many individuals and families across the region. 

Before joining the Red Cross, Michele gained extensive experience in healthcare leadership. She served as a Director of Business Development at Telemed2u, a Roseville-based company specializing in diagnostic radiology and oncology services. Earlier in her career, she held executive roles at Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy, where she served as Foundation CEO and Vice President of Development. 

Vincent’s journey with the Red Cross began in 2018 as a Disaster Program Manager for Solano and Marin Counties. In this role, he successfully built strong internal connections with the volunteer base while also establishing partnerships throughout the community, working closely with the local Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) in the North Bay Chapter. He has supported the Red Cross mission with multiple local and national disaster deployments to hurricanes, wildfires, floods and home fires.

Vincent has over 24 years of non-profit experience and is dedicated to supporting communities, families and building connections. In his role as Chapter CEO, Vincent will work to bridge our Red Cross leadership to the volunteers carrying out the mission on a daily basis, facilitating the free flow of information and sharing of ideas.  He will also focus on developing even stronger connections with our donors and recruiting partners and board member prospects.

A North Bay resident, Vincent enjoys adding to his vinyl record collection, cheering for A’s, Warriors & 49ers and spending time with family and friends.