Red Cross Los Angeles Welcomes Cheryl Moersen as New Board Chair

The American Red Cross Los Angeles Region announced Cheryl Moersen was selected as the new chair of the Board of Directors at the start of its fiscal year on July 1. Moersen will serve in this position for two years, through June 30, 2025.

“In my new role as chair, I am determined to strengthen our community resilience in Los Angeles as we navigate more frequent and intense disasters,” Moersen said. “I am committed to our board embracing an all-inclusive approach to our role in achieving Red Cross LA’s community goals and supporting our colleagues on the frontlines of disaster responses, and families across the nation struggling to cope with this humanitarian crisis of our changing climate.”

Moersen, who joined the Los Angeles Region board of directors in 2011, and currently also serves on the Board Governance and Nominating Committee will be working side-by-side with the region’s CEO Joanne Nowlin. In addition to the Red Cross board of directors, Moersen also served as the vice chair of the Operations Committee, an ad-hoc committee that served to guide the region’s operational priorities.

Moersen recently retired from a long leadership career as Principal at Ernst & Young, where she served as the U.S. West Region Technology Risk Leader and the U.S. West Region Consulting Quality and Risk Management Leader. Moersen brings over 30 years of experience providing information technology and financial audit, risk and internal controls consulting services to hundreds of Fortune1000 and private companies. Moersen’s years of experience includes extensive Board and Audit Committee relationships, helped companies improve business performance, manage risk, and navigate complex regulatory and internal control requirements. She achieved double-digit YOY growth in revenue and talent and developed high performing teams as a recognized coach, mentor and talent leader. She was the Professional Women’s Network Leader and a member of the Region Gender Equity Strategy team.

Vice Chairs of Red Cross LA Board of Directors
In addition to electing the chair, board members also elected three vice chairs:

Hannah Coan
Global Head of Media Relations, Capital Group

Coan joined Capital Group in June 2015 and is responsible for supporting the company’s corporate image and retail sales efforts through media relations. Prior to Capital Group, Coan was vice president of Corporate & Brand Affairs of Nestlé USA, Coan oversaw external communications and community programs. She worked closely with Nestlé’s operating companies and agency partners to lead image-building communications and corporate social media. Prior to Nestlé, Coan served as senior vice president of Waggener Edstrom, a technology-focused public relations agency, where she led communications for Microsoft’s Office Division including the global launch of Office 365 and Lync. Most of her career has been on the agency side, having also spent eight years at Publicis PR as the executive vice president and managing director in Seattle. She joined Publicis from a technology company, where she formed and ran the communication team including developing the communication strategy leading to a successful IPO. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Washington.

Claudia Kotchka
Senior Executive & Change Agent, Procter & Gamble

Claudia Kotchka is a Senior Executive and Change Agent who successfully led an innovation culture transformation at Procter & Gamble. Ms. Kotchka is a decisive, high-energy and results-driven leader with broad-based experience in cutting-edge innovation practices, strategic use of design, culture change and the marketing of mega brands. She is recognized for advancing and integrating design, innovation, strategy and execution. A pioneer in innovation practices, she is acknowledged for strategic thinking, organization change, financial acumen and proven results. Her positive approach engenders enthusiasm throughout an organization. Currently, Kotchka advises Fortune 500 companies on wide ranging aspects of innovation, design and culture change. In 2009, Ms. Kotchka retired from P&G, completing a milestone filled thirty-one year career, where she served on the Global Leadership Council, the Innovation Council and the Corporate Women’s Leadership Team. When she retired, Ms. Kotchka completed two key roles reporting directly to the CEO, A.G. Lafley, leading Design Innovation Strategy and a framework for Business Model Innovation.

Tom Tierney
Executive Vice President Center Operations & Construction Management, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield

Tierney is responsible for operating URW’s shopping centers in the U.S., leading the construction, tenant coordination, security, facilities, marketing, and operations teams.

Since first joining the company in 2003 as General Manager of Westfield Trumbull in Connecticut, Tierney subsequently served as the Regional Vice President for the Los Angeles Region; Senior Vice President and Regional Leader for the San Diego Region; Senior Vice President for the West Region; Executive Vice President Operations; Executive Vice President, Business Transformation, and his former role as Executive Vice President of the Regional Portfolio, leading asset management, leasing, marketing, and operations for 20 shopping centers. Prior to joining URW, Tierney started his career as a CPA at Coopers & Lybrand and then held senior level finance and operations positions for The Walt Disney Company. Tierney is a graduate of Boston College and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission (LASEC).

About the American Red Cross

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org/la or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCrossLA or @CruzRojaLA.