Red Cross leader at Travis set to retire

  • Published
  • By Jim Spellman
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Say the word "retirement" and visions of sleeping in late, traveling the world, playing a round of golf or spending hours at that favorite fishing hole typically come to mind. Say the word "retirement" to Joan Kelley-Williams, a long-time member of the American Red Cross and you'll hear another word: Volunteer.

After 30 years of service, Kelley-Williams steps down today as director of International and Services to the Armed Forces for the American Red Cross' Gateway to the Golden State region.  The ARC's Bay Area chapter is the lead chapter for the ARC in a 10-county region of Northern California.

"I have been seriously considering this step since early summer for a number of reasons.  The main driver is now is a great time for me to return to the volunteer ranks and focus on family and the joys of retirement," Kelley-Williams said. "After 23 years as paid staff, preceded by seven as a volunteer, I have enjoyed both aspects of my Red Cross career and look forward to returning to the volunteer ranks where it all began."

Since 2004, Kelley-Williams served as ARC station manager at David Grant USAF Medical Center, the flagship hospital in the Air Force Medical Service. Responsible for overseeing service delivery, as well as inter-agency and governmental relations on behalf of her chapter for the past 10-and-a-half years, she was Red Cross liaison for the 60th and 349th Air Mobility Wings and the 615th Contingency Response Wing.

Starting out as a volunteer in 1984, Kelley-Williams joined the staff ranks in 1991 as the ARC Bay Area chapter's first director of volunteer administration. She created the chapter's premier International Services Department, delivering direct services including restoring family links and providing outreach and education programs focused on the promotion of international humanitarian and human rights law.

Kelly-Williams also identified and cultivated relationships with major donors for the global initiative to eradicate measles in Africa. She developed a collaborative HIV-AIDS outreach and education program model with the Beijing branch of the China Red Cross. For 20 years, Kelley-Williams served as a member of ARC's national disaster response corps, serving on major national disasters since 1992. Her service in support of Hurricane Katrina was done in the Bay Area and served nearly 10,000 Katrina evacuees and families, many of whom remain in the Bay Area today.

"My focus and purpose since late summer is and continues to be doing what I can to support the SAF and International Services Department move toward the 2017 vision while preserving the roots and wings that make us such a venerable but still valuable organization after 133 years," said Kelley-Williams. "To this end, most of my remaining time will be spent supporting the training, transitioning and re-alignment of the service(s) and stellar volunteers that make it all happen."