Northeastern Massachusetts
The Northeastern Massachusetts Chapter serves a population of over 1.2 million people in Essex and Middlesex counties. We are part of the Massachusetts Region of the American Red Cross.
We would like to thank our local sponsors who are committed to making Northeastern Massachusetts a safer place to live and call home.
Leslie Ray & Marcia C. Ray Foundation, INC
Element Care | Solimine Charitable
Athena Marble & Granite | | Batista Environmental Tech LLC | Cape Ann Savings | CSL International | Cummings Center | Goldberg Properties | Lahey Hospital | Lynn Economic and Industrial Corporation | Lynn Housing Authority | Middlesex Savings | Salem Five | Tufts Health
Launched in October 2014, the American Red Cross Home Fire Campaign aims to prevent deaths and injuries from home fires, which account for most of the more than 60,000 disasters that we respond to each year.
The Red Cross is here for you. Please call us at 800-564-1234 for assistance.
Information on blood drives, blood donation appointments as well as your personal blood donor account can be found on our Red Cross Blood website (click the link below). You may also call us 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
We provide help for members of the military, veterans and their families to prepare for, cope with and respond to the challenges of military service. Call 1-877-272-7337 (24 hours a day) or click below to learn more.
The Red Cross offers classes in: CPR, first aid, lifeguarding, learn to swim, water safety and more. Click below to learn more.
For questions about classes or certification cards you may also call: 1-800-RED-CROSS.
The best way to provide immediate relief to your neighbors facing emergency situations is through a monetary donation. Our disaster assistance programs rely heavily on the generous financial support of citizens in the Massachusetts region. Even if you only have a few dollars to spare, your donation to American Red Cross disaster relief will make a significant difference in the lives of those facing disasters. Make a one-time donation today either online, by phone, or by mail, or set up a recurring monthly donation to make an even bigger difference.
The humanitarian work that we do at American Red Cross would not be possible without our volunteers. We have a variety of disaster relief volunteer opportunities available, as well as potential positions focused on facility management, health and safety, service to the Armed Forces, and professional specialties like photography, IT, and more. Check out our current volunteer opportunities near you in Lawrence, Massachusetts!
Host a charity stream by playing your favorite video games while raising life-saving funds to help those in need. You can also fundraise your way by energizing your community through celebrating a special occasion or being creative to help to those in need. Click a button below to get started!
A Board of Directors and paid management team provide leadership for carrying out the work of the American Red Cross of Northeastern Massachusetts. Chapter management consists of a team of officers and program directors. Kyle McWilliam-Lopez provides overall leadership to the chapter.
Kyle McWilliam-Lopez
Executive Director, Northeastern Massachusetts
Call: (617) 467-8859
Email: kyle.lopez2@redcross.org
Deb Duxbury
Disaster Program Manager, Northeastern Massachusetts
Email: Debra.Duxbury@redcross.org
The Volunteer Board is the governing body for the Northeastern Massachusetts Chapter and is composed of representatives from many different community sectors. This group develops the vision for our chapter and determines the policies that guide our decisions. The Board ensures that the chapter is an effective steward of our donors’ contributions.
Kathleen M. Walsh
Board Chair
Kathleen is a 28-year YMCA professional and the CEO of the YMCA of Metro North, with past position at the YMCA of Greater Boston and the Northshore.
After graduating from Bishop Fenwick in Peabody, Walsh continued on to Providence College followed by a graduate degree at Northeastern University. She started at the Y as a “professional stop along the way” until she received a real job someday. Walsh is now one of 40 female CEOs in mid-major YMCAs across the country. To give you a gauge on what that means - there are under 800 YMCAs in the United States. And the YMCA of Metro North, which includes the Lynn Y, is in the top 50 YMCA’s in the country based on budget size and community impact.
Ms. Walsh sits on a variety of boards including the Department of Children and Family Services, YMCA Shared Services, Association of YMCA Professionals Board Chairwomen, Saugus Business Education Collaborative, Healthy Lynnfield Substance Abuse Prevention Committee, and the North Reading Hall of Fame Race Community. She is also an incorporator with North Shore Bank.
Jonathan C. Goldfield, Esq.
Vice Chair
Jonathan Goldfield was elected to the Board of Directors in 2011. He is a general volunteer and supervisor with Disaster Services and has deployed on national disaster responses. He is a caseworker with Service to Armed Forces, and since 2013 is a member of the Red Cross/Boston Marathon® course medical station leadership team and worked on these medical stations since 1984. In 2016, the Massachusetts Region Executive Director awarded Mr. Goldfield with the annual CEO Award for service to the Chapter.
Professionally, he served in local government roles as chief procurement and chief financial officers and maintained a part-time private law practice. At the Lowell Housing Authority, he oversees capital construction/modernization projects and grant planning in public housing, which role he sees as coming full-circle from supervising Red Cross disaster shelters and disaster recovery planning to permanent housing improvements for HUD- and state-aided public housing developments.
Jonathan holds a B.A. in Mass Communications, University of Hartford, M.P.A., Suffolk University and J.D., Massachusetts School of Law. He is a member of the Massachusetts bar.
Married to Graciela Trilla, they have two adult children and reside in Haverhill, MA with their eight pets. Other volunteer activities include ski patrol, amateur radio and playing bass trombone with a swing band.
Keith Birch
Keith Birch is a Director of Environment, Health, Safety, and Sustainability for Schneider Electric’s North American operations, which is headquartered in Massachusetts. With over 30 years of experience in consulting and multinational companies, Keith has developed expertise in crisis management, loss control, regulatory compliance, and sustainability initiatives, as well as establishing strong relationship with regulatory and government agencies.
As a lifelong New Englander and resident of Massachusetts for over 30 years, Keith brings a deep understanding of the local community and its needs. Keith received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Rhode Island.
Keith leads Schneider's Crisis Management team, ensuring effective planning, training, communications, and response to crisis events like natural disasters, industrial incidents and the recent COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring effective business continuity and prioritizing employee and family safety.
Furthermore, Keith collaborates with the Schneider Electric Foundation to support organizations that build resilient communities, promote sustainable energy solutions, enhance disaster response capabilities, and ensure resilient and reliable energy.
Janet Breiter
Janet Breiter is a native New Yorker who has planted roots on Boston's coastal Northshore. She is a seasoned marketing consultant with a successful 16-year niche specialty in real estate, currently affiliated as a Broker Associate with Keller Williams Evolution, based in Beverly, MA. She describes her personal real estate brand - Connectnow2homes.com and Portfolio Luxury Properties - as a "community connector disguised as real estate business".
Her career has spanned positions as a Marketing Director for shopping centers; Information Director for The Kidney Foundation of Massachusetts, during which time she helped to launch the "Renew a License, Renew a Life" program for organ donation. with the Registry of Motor Vehicles, along with endeavors as an advertising copywriter and freelance newspaper writer.
She dubs herself a "lifelong learner" who enjoys photography, travel to Ireland, snowshoeing, musical theatre, cinema and creating "surprise and delight" for family, friends and Clients.
DawnMarie Corneau
DawnMarie Corneau joined LPL Financial in September 2005 as an Investment Advisor Representative. This conscious decision to integrate her existing financial advising practice with LPL Financial has enabled her to align her own core values with those of a “financial planning” firm. In January of 2007, she opened the Corneau Wealth Management office.
She began helping clients with their financial planning needs as a registered representative with Merrill Lynch in 1990. In 1998, she transitioned to UBS (formerly Paine Webber) as a Vice President of Investments. A vibrant speaker, Ms. Corneau has conducted personal financial seminars across the North Shore for the past 28 years. She also chaired the North Shore Women’s Expo from 1993-1996.
She currently holds her Series 7, Series 63, and Series 66 securities registrations with LPL Financial and maintains a license to offer life, disability and long-term care insurance. She has obtained her CERTIFIED FUNDS SPECIALIST ™ certification.
DawnMarie has served as member of the Board of Directors for the North Shore Children’s Hospital, campaigning for renovations and renewed prestige for the hospital and currently sits on the Board of Overseers for North Shore Medical Center. For eight years, she was the North Shore’s Chairperson for the American Cancer Society’s Daffodil campaign. She was a regular Guest Reader for Peabody’s Education Council and is now involved in Beverly’s Cool Reader program and Junior Achievement program. She is active with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Fund for a Cure Campaign and is the current Chairperson for the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross of Northeast Massachusetts.
Ms. Corneau received a BA from Salem State University and her CFS ™ at the Institute of Business and Finance in San Diego, California. A Beverly, MA resident, she is married to Robert Corneau and has two children—Matthew and Nicholas.
Curtis Davis
Curtis Davis is committed to fostering relationships with municipal leaders and customers in the Merrimack Valley and North Shore. In his role as Customer and Community Manager at National Grid, where he has worked for the past nine years, Curtis pairs his passion for helping others with his knack for problem solving by resolving stakeholders’ pain points and ensuring transparency between National Grid and the communities it serves. He coordinates with and works alongside the mayor’s offices, fire and police departments, DPWs, city councils and selectboards, and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. As a liaison, Curtis organizes restoration efforts during emergency events and damaging storms. Prior to his present role, Curtis worked in the corporate and executive security space.
Dating back to its establishment, Curtis’s family has deep roots in Haverhill, where he still maintains ties to this day. A recent MBA graduate, he is constantly seeking opportunities to increase his knowledge and skillset. Other acquired skills include axe throwing, refinishing furniture, and finding new trails to hike with his dog. In his spare time, he volunteers at Strongwater Farm Therapeutic Equestrian Center doing everything from turning out horses to mucking out stalls.
Sue Deon
Suzanne (Sue) Deon a lifelong resident of the Northshore and currently resides in Danvers MA. Sue spent her professional career in sales management dealing with Fortune 500 companies.
After experiencing a life changing illness, Sue has a very different perspective on life. She is excited and looking forward to helping people by leveraging her sales and marketing experience she gained throughout her 25-year career.
Sue will be working on promoting and managing fundraising events and helping the community where needed.
Anbuselvan Dharmarajan
Anbuselvan Dharmarajan, MD., MPH, started interactions with Red Cross when he was in high school in India. He continued the journey as secretary during medical school and president of the Red Cross club during medical residency. He served the organization by doing several blood donations camps, free medical camps, and free surgeries for the needy patients. Anbuselvan was awarded for rescuing so many lives during the temple fire accident and tsunami disaster by mobilizing medical team support, emergency surgeries and first aid response.
As a community volunteer leader of northeast MA Red Cross, Anbuselvan is involved in Sound the Alarm events and disaster response teams. He modeled for blood drive t-shirt which recruited more than 11,000 donations, while also donating blood himself. He inaugurated and co-lead youth development leadership program, LION with the Northeast MA Chapter and successfully completed blood drives, training programs, and working on Internation Humanitarian Law presentations. He became a limitless leader for International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) Solferino academy and leading youths from several countries. Awarded Blood Services Hero at Boston Heroes Breakfast in April 2024.
Priscila Keliher
Priscila Keliher joined The Wish Project in February 2022 out of a desire to help her local community. She currently serves as the executive director of the organization, which provides basic needs to thousands of families in the Merrimack Valley.
Priscila is originally from Brazil where she first engaged in volunteerism during her teenage years. She later moved to Canada where she earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from University of Montreal. She is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, French and English and her language skills have served her well when engaging with community members who would otherwise struggle to get the help they need. She holds three citizenships (Brazilian, Canadian, and American), and having come from a family that originally emigrated from Japan to Brazil and then moving to new countries twice herself, she has a first-hand understanding of the challenges that come with living in a foreign land with different culture, language, and customs - an experience which can be frightening and exciting at the same time.
Priscila lives in Chelmsford with her husband and daughter who share the same passion for different cultures and selfless service.
Saviel Ortiz
Saviel Ortiz, an outstanding finance major from the Isenberg School of Management, UMass Amherst, joins the Northeastern Massachusetts chapter of the American Red Cross board of directors, bringing a wealth of knowledge in financial and risk management, complemented by many years of banking experience. His academic background, covering financial analysis, credit risk, and modeling, along with his practical experience as a Credit Department Intern at Reading Cooperative Bank, positions him to make significant contributions to the organization.
Ortiz's dedication extends to community service, evident from his volunteer work with Bread & Roses and the YMCA in Lawrence, MA, and his recognition as a 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholar. His bilingual skills and deep connections within the non-profit sector further enhance his ability to serve and lead. Ortiz embodies the qualities of a visionary leader, poised to advance the mission of the American Red Cross in Northeastern Massachusetts through his blend of financial expertise, extensive banking experience, and commitment to community upliftment.
Caitlin McCormick Small
Caitlin McCormick Small is the Executive Director and CEO of Project Adventure, a national nonprofit headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts.
She grew up in Massachusetts and attended Sarah Lawrence College, where she studied writing and theology. She received a M.A. in English from Bar-Ilan University in Israel, and a Masters of Education from the UMass Boston, where her focus was the effective use of nonprofit partnerships to enhance K-12 public education. Caitlin’s early career involved running afterschool, mentoring, and other programs for youth at risk. She later joined The PEAR Institute of McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School, where she led a team of consultants and coaches partnering with public schools to enhance social-emotional learning (SEL) and mental health programs through data, training, and leadership development.
Caitlin is passionate about supporting her community in and around Gloucester, MA through both work and volunteering, and sees service to the Red Cross as an important way to give back.
Dave McNulty
Dave McNulty served as an intelligence officer and analyst for over 30 years, including 27 in uniform, in a variety of operational support and leadership positions in flying squadrons and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) organizations. He deployed in support of contingency operations in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. His final military assignment was Commander, 102nd Intelligence Wing at Joint Base Cape Cod. In that role, he was responsible for the activities of over 1,200 personnel prepared to respond to domestic emergencies in the Commonwealth while maintaining readiness to accomplish wartime missions of ISR operations, cryptologic intelligence, cyber engineering and installation support, medical functions, and expeditionary combat support.
Dave holds a B.S. in Mass Communications/Public Relations from Boston University, a MBA from the Isenberg School of Management, UMass Amherst, and was a National Security Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He joined the Northeastern Massachusetts chapter board in 2024 and looks forward to the opportunity to continue to serve his community with the Red Cross.
Jihae Sohn
Jihae is the Vice President of Product Development at Velico Medical, a medical device company developing a spray dry plasma manufacturing system. In this role, Jihae oversees the development and evaluation of single-use disposable components of the FrontlineODP™ System in addition to all in vitro characterizations of the spray dried plasma product. She also serves as part of the regulatory team, contributing to all regulatory submissions.
Jihae has over 14 years of experience in the medical device industry and brings a wealth of knowledge from having worked at Covidien, Semprus BioSciences and Shire Human Genetic Therapies. She has a background in vascular medical devices including anti-thrombotic polymer coatings and the development of vascular models and assays. Her graduate work focused on stabilizing dried proteins in chitosan films.
Jihae holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Northeastern University and a M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Tufts University.
David J. Solimine, Jr.
David J. Solimine, Jr. was elected to the Board of Directors in 2017. David has been an active supporter of the Heroes Breakfast as well as Sound the Alarm. David is a life-long Lynn resident who, along with his father (Dave Sr.) and son (Joel), operates the Solimine Funeral Homes in Lynn. The Solimine family is well known for its leadership in funeral service as well as community involvement and philanthropy. Mr. Solimine is also partners with his son Michael in Solimine Development Corp. Solimine Development is currently developing the Boulderwood Subdivision in Peabody where 113 new single family homes are being constructed, with 75 homes now completed and occupied. Mr. Solimine is involved in several community organizations and has served on a number of community boards including Hospice of the North Shore (now Care Dimensions), Greater Lynn YMCA, and Arts after Hours. In addition to the Red Cross, he currently serves on the boards of All Care Hospice and Lynn Shore Rest Home. He is Past Chairman of the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce and Past Grand Knight of the Lynn Knights of Columbus. David lives in Lynn with his wife, Magnolia Contreras.
Don Walker
Don Walker is a retired Senior Tax Manager and Vice-President of Global Taxation (1972 – 2018). He is the former President of the New England Chapter of the Tax Executives Institute. Don holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Bentley College and a Masters Degree in Taxation from Suffolk University.
Don started his illustrious Red Cross volunteer career in 1965 as a member of the disaster team. Since then, Don has served on many disaster operations and in a wide range of Red Cross positions. He was a Disaster Team Leader, the Disaster Chairman for the Milton and Greater Boston MA chapters, a board member for the American Red Cross of Massachusetts Bay, and as the Red Cross Government Liaison to FEMA Region I, and the list goes on. Don is the Past Master of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons at Saint Matthew’s Lodge.
Margaret White
Margaret White is a versatile and experienced leader with an impressive background spanning over 40 years in military service and 20 years in law enforcement. Her expertise lies in collaborative interagency planning, emergency response and preparedness, military plans and operations, and public speaking. Throughout her career, she held various leadership and command positions, including Assistant Adjutant General for the Massachusetts Military Division, Director and Senior Operations Officer for Domestic Support in the Massachusetts National Guard.
