April D. Wood is the president and chief executive officer of the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (National VOAD), a non-profit association of the nation’s leading disaster relief and recovery organizations representing millions of volunteers across the VOAD Movement. She has more than two decades of experience leading change and championing diversity, equity, and inclusion while coordinating response and recovery efforts for some of the largest and most complex U.S. disasters.
Prior, Wood served as the senior director for external program services and national partnerships for American Red Cross national headquarters. In these roles, she led innovative approaches to multi-agency data sharing using geographic information systems and was responsible for the diverse national partnerships portfolio to strengthen coordination during disasters, build trust with undeserved communities and ensure equitable access to services and programs.
In collaboration with government partners, Wood currently serves on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Faith Based Security Advisory Council (FBSAC) and as chair of FBSAC subcommittees on grants, resources, and combatting online child sexual exploitation and abuse. She also serves on a National Advisory Council (NAC) subcommittee and is a Federal Emergency Management Agency Vanguard Executive Crisis Leadership fellow. She was previously recognized as a Washington Business Journal 40 Under 40 awardee.
Wood is a registered nurse and a former emergency medical technician (EMT). In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her children and volunteering with the local fire department and American Red Cross.