Celena Roldan Sarillo

Celena Sarillo serves as the Interim CEO of the Greater New York Red Cross, the largest Red Cross region in the country. Previously, she was the CEO for The Illinois Region of the Red Cross, which is the second largest region, with an annual budget of approximately $24M, covering 88 counties and more than 3500 dedicated volunteers. She has served in various leadership roles supporting the national office of the American Red Cross, including serving as an elected official liaison deployed to engage elected officials in disaster impacted areas, and as one of the founders of the American Red Cross Latino Engagement Initiative.

Prior to joining Red Cross, Sarillo served as the Executive Director of Erie Neighborhood House, which was founded to strengthen low-income, primarily Latino families through skill-building, access to critical resources, advocacy, and collaborative action. In 2011, she was a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow, participating in an intensive leadership training and partnership-building program that examined key issues facing the Chicago metropolitan area. In 2015, she participated in the German Marshall Memorial Fellowship, a month-long leadership development program in Europe focused on supporting and fostering the transatlantic relationship between the U.S. and Europe, sponsored by the German Marshall Fund of the United States. She was selected as a Fellow in the 2017 CEO Perspectives program, a nationally recognized program that fosters and accelerates business leadership development.

Most recently, Sarillo was recognized by the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Social Work as their 2021 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient. Sarillo was also named as one of Chicago’s “Most Powerful Latinos,” on the 2019 inaugural list compiled by Crain’s Chicago Business. She was also named by the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago as the 2016 Community Leader of the Year for her work in communities and the nonprofit sector.

Sarillo holds a master’s degree in early childhood administration from National Louis University, as well as master’s and bachelor’s degrees in social work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She lives in Chicago with her husband and has a son at Saint Louis University.