ABOUT OUR SPEAKER: Debi Meeds is the Chief Executive Officer of the American Red Cross Southern Missouri Region, covering 40 counties in southern Missouri. She has served in many positions throughout her 20 years as a Red Cross employee and has responded to many disasters. On May 22, this year, she was on-scene and opened the Red Cross shelter in Joplin just hours after the devastating tornado passed.

She is Co-Chair of the Long Term Recovery Committee in Joplin, serves on the Missouri VOAD and is Co-chair of the Governor’s Partnership.  

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation's blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission.