Kathryn Bennett
Kathryn Bennett has thirty-five years’ experience in non-profit management including executive positions with the American Red Cross and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Washington and Alaska.
For the majority of her career, Bennett served with the American Red Cross in Washington State and Hawaii. As Chief Executive Officer of the American Red Cross for the state of Hawaii and the American Territories of the Pacific, she was responsible for the management, delivery and funding of Red Cross health, safety and disaster services throughout Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Bennett taught “Ethical Decision Making” and “Frontline Leadership” nationally for the American Red Cross and was a mentor for new Red Cross managers in the organization’s Star Track program. The National American Red Cross twice honored Bennett as a recipient of its highest honor, the Tiffany Award for Management. She was also presented with the Service Excellence Award by then Surgeon General of the Navy, Vice Admiral Richard Nelson, for her work in improving health and safety services to the military in the Pacific and their families.
Currently serving as the Director of Leadership Skagit, Bennett is responsible for the program’s ongoing development, delivery and direction. Leadership Skagit’s mission is to develop community leadership that is informed, inclusive and connected through shared learning experiences. The program is in its sixteenth year with alumni and current participants now numbering in the hundreds. It is a program of the EDASC Foundation.
In 2018, Bennett was appointed by Governor Inslee for a second term as a trustee of Skagit Valley College. She serves as SVC’s representative on the state-wide Awards Committee of the Washington Association of Community and Technical Colleges. In 2014, she was named woman of the year by Skagit Women’s Alliance and Network.
Bennett’s interests include keeping up with her “always inspiring” family, reading biographies and facilitating team building and planning sessions for organizations. A self-professed leadership junkie, she is passionate about “engaging and encouraging” community leadership.