The British Red Cross has a range of expert spokespeople available for interview. Our main spokespeople are listed below but we also have other staff available depending on the nature of your enquiry.
UK services
International
General and fundraising
Family reunification, refugee services and independent living
Margaret Lally is the director of UK services. She can talk about our work reuniting families separated by conflict and natural disaster, refugee services in the UK and independent living including care in the home and transport assistance.
First aid
Joe Mulligan is our first-aid expert. He can talk about the importance of first-aid training, give life-saving tips and is a spokesperson for our Life. Live it campaign. Joe is a qualified nurse, was a frontline ambulance-crew member and a teacher, and is the author of various first-aid publications. The British Red Cross trains more than 150,000 first aiders every year.
International disaster response
Mike Goodhand is head of international logistics and is responsible for the rapid deployment of our logistics emergency response unit to disaster zones around the world. The team procures relief items such as blankets and tents and ensures goods are delivered effectively to the people who need them most. Mike has been at the forefront of our disaster response work for more than ten years.
Natural disasters, disaster preparedness and disaster reduction
David Peppiatt has many years of expertise working on disaster prevention and preparedness programmes. David has worked in humanitarian relief and development assistance in east and central Africa, south-east Asia and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Chief executive
Sir Nicholas Young has been the chief executive of the British Red Cross since 2001. Nick heads up a senior management team of 11 directors who lead on the charity’s strategy. He travels widely overseas visiting disaster zones, reconstruction projects, health programmes and disaster preparedness work, among others. In the UK Nick carries out branch and project visits across the country.
Fundraising
Mark Astarita is our director of fundraising and responsible for raising tens of millions of pounds of donations annually. He has over a decade of experience of fundraising in the voluntary sector and was a pioneer of face-to-face fundraising. Mark can talk about our shops, fundraising events and challenges, Red Cross Week, emergency appeals, our corporate partnerships and issues such as ethical fundraising.