Marsha Johnson Evans became President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Red Cross on August 5, 2002. Evans brings an impressive array of experience to her position at the Red Cross – not the least of which is a 29-year career with the U.S. Navy. As a Navy officer, Evans held a variety of command positions overseeing multi-million dollar budgets and thousands of employees. Between 1993 and 1995, she led the Navy Recruiting Command. With more than 6,000 employees in 1,200 locations, she was responsible for recruiting some 70,000 officers and enlisted personnel annually.

She served as superintendent of the Naval Post graduate School in Monterey, California, where she led an effort to restructure and adapt educational programs to better meet demands on incoming officers. She also held the position of chief of staff at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland and commanding officer of the Treasure Island Naval Station, where she directed Navy personnel and civilians in support of Navy operating forces and families in the San Francisco Bay Area.

After an extremely successful career, she retired in 1998 as a rear admiral; one of very few women to reach this rank. Assuming the top staff position at the Girl Scouts of the USA in January 1998, a natural continuation of her efforts to expand professional roles of women in the Navy, Evans labored to offer young women meaningful programs, both personally and professionally.

She entered the Navy immediately after graduating from Occidental College in Los Angeles with a B.A. in Law and Diplomacy. Some years later, the Navy provided her with the opportunity to earn a Master’s Degree in International Security at Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Her degree was supplemented by additional studies at the National War College in Washington, D.C., and the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.  . . . short bio

Marsha Johnson Evans became President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Red Cross on August 5, 2002. Evans brings an impressive array of experience to her position at the Red Cross – not the least of which is a 29-year career with the U.S. Navy. As a Navy officer, Evans held a variety of command positions overseeing multi-million dollar budgets and thousands of employees. Between 1993 and 1995, she led the Navy Recruiting Command . . . full bio