By Ashley Henyan
On June 21, 2018, the Red Cross Los Angeles Region held its 102nd Annual Meeting at USC’s Town and Gown. In attendance were hundreds of Red Cross volunteers, employees, board members and many Red Cross community, corporate and government partners. During the meeting, Scott J. Olmsted was nominated and named the Los Angeles Board Chair for FY19. Mr. Olmsted has been on the board since 2012 and previously held the position of Vice Chair. His term as Board Chair begins July 1, as he succeeds Andrea Davis, Director of Global Crisis Management and Business Continuity, The Walt Disney Company.
Scott Olmsted is Senior Vice President, Group Head for the Technology, Media and Entertainment Group Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and is responsible for leading a team that advises emerging growth to public companies in the technology, media and entertainment industry across multiple segments of their business including capital raising, advisory and day to day operations. His experience includes private and public companies as well as portfolio companies of venture capital and private equity firms. Scott has successfully managed multiple teams for over 15 years to deliver customized solutions to meet client’s ever-changing needs.
“I am humbled to be elected Chair for the nation’s second largest Red Cross region and thrilled to help lead more than 5,000 volunteers and staff as we carry out the mission of the American Red Cross every day in Los Angeles,” said Scott Olmsted. “I’m looking forward to a collaborative environment, where I can share my knowledge and expertise and also learn from the existing team’s comprehensive understanding of the types of services our Los Angeles community needs.”
During the meeting, Board Members also named three Vice Chairs for the upcoming fiscal year, including: Bruce Daly, Principal, Deloitte and Touche, Cheryl Moersen, Principal Ernst & Young and Tom Tierney, Executive Vice President, Westfield Property Group.
During the meeting, Los Angeles Region CEO, Jarrett Barrios highlighted regional achievements from the past year. On Olmsted as Board Chair, Barrios stated, “I am thrilled with having Scott continue on with us as Board Chair for the next fiscal year. He certainly has big shoes to fill [in replacing his predecessor, Andrea Davis] but I am certain he is up to the challenge.”
Attendees enjoyed an eye-opening keynote address from NIH Fogarty Global Health Scholar and Research Fellow at Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Sonny Patel. Patel, who is the brother of Los Angeles Region Board Member and CNN Contributor, Ryan Patel, shared his expertise on global community resiliency, the benefit of sharing knowledge and the importance of volunteerism.
From the Red Cross, Cliff Numark, Senior Vice President Recruitment and Field Marketing remarked on One Red Cross, and the importance of donating blood—specifically during the summer months as blood and blood platelets are, typically, in more dire need.
Also honored during the event was Long Beach Rio Hondo and South Bay Chapter Executive Director, Margaret Arbini-Madonna, who accepted the 2018 CEO Award and Karen Baker, California’s Chief Service Officer, who was presented with the 2018 Chair’s Excellence Award.
