American Red Cross names CEO for Hawaii and US Pacific territories

Honolulu (ARC)--The Pacific Islands Region of the American Red Cross, which covers Hawaii, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa, has appointed Molly Schmidt as CEO effective as of Aug. 2.

Molly Schmidt

The regional office is headquartered in Honolulu.

Schmidt, who has served as interim CEO since May 2025 and previously served as the regional chief operating officer of the Pacific Islands Region, has more than two decades of experience in domestic and global nonprofits.

Schmidt has a long history of nonprofit service to communities and has served in senior leadership roles as chief operating officer for Girl Scouts of Hawaiʻi. Additionally, Schmidt served the Red Cross Movement after the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, based in Bangkok, Thailand with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Southeast Asia Regional Delegation.

Under Molly’s leadership at the American Red Cross across the Pacific islands, she has championed the idea that service shapes us into better leaders and better members of the community. Her relentless efforts highlight the importance of harmony and bridging connections between people, resources and ideas to achieve a shared vision of community readiness.

“Molly is an innovative leader who excels at coalescing teams to their highest potential and we are proud to have her serve the Red Cross ‘ohana and continue the strong legacy of the Red Cross in all our communities throughout the Pacific islands," said Maya Rogers, Red Cross of Hawaii board chair.

A longtime resident of , Schmidt is active in the community as Secretary and President-Elect of the Windward Rotary Club of Oahu in Kailua and is a Cohort 9 graduate of the YWCA Patsy T. Mink Leadership Alliance. She is a troop leader for Girl Scouts of Hawaiʻi’s Troop 193, serves on the grant review committee for the Women’s Fund Hawaiʻi and is a member of Hawaiʻi’s Organization of Women Leaders. Schmidt is a graduate of Emory University.