21. Special Episode: American Red Cross and the Disaster Response to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton

As regional chief executive officer of the American Red Cross New Jersey Region, Rosie Taravella oversees all Red Cross disaster services, volunteer management, service to the Armed Forces, fundraising and external relations within the state. New Jersey is home to 8.9 million residents and is the most densely populated state in the country.

Taravella joined the Red Cross in 2012 as regional chief executive officer of the American Red Cross of Central New York, overseeing the organization’s operations throughout 16 Central New York counties. In late 2014, the region was expanded to include Western New York, with Taravella providing oversight for 26 counties as chief executive officer of the American Red Cross of Western and Central New York. During her tenure, Taravella developed a vision and strategy to increase the teamwork of employees reporting across the region, executed a plan to reduce the number of facilities in the region to better utilize donor dollars, and partnered with emergency management officials to develop community resilience and improve readiness for large-scale disasters.

Prior to her work with the Red Cross, Taravella was vice president of corporate advancement at WCNY Public Broadcasting in Syracuse, New York. At WCNY, she provided oversight for membership, major giving, grant support, auctions, volunteer services, and special events. Taravella worked to instigate a more interactive relationship with the station’s viewers and listeners. In 2011, she kicked off the public phase of “The Campaign for WCNY,” a capital fundraising effort for the renovation and construction of WCNY’s new headquarters.

Taravella was invited to participate in the Health Foundation Leadership Fellows Program of Western and Central New York from 2013-2015, and was awarded “Nonprofit Executive of the Year” by the Central New York Business Journal in 2014.