March 15, 2004 Red Cross Official to Deliver Women's History Month Keynote Address

Mary DeKuyper, national chair of volunteers for the American Red Cross, will deliver the 2004 Women's History Month keynote address at the Library of Congress at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 23, in Madison Hall, first floor, James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. SE, Washington, D.C. The lecture is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required.

Mary DeKuyper is the highest ranking volunteer in the American Red Cross. Her primary responsibility is to promote the effective involvement of volunteers throughout the organization to further its mission.

A graduate of Wellesley College, DeKuyper has spent her career as an adviser to nonprofit organizations in the areas of board development, staff relations, organizational structure, planning, fundraising, volunteer management and advocacy. She has led 12 nonprofit boards and served on an additional 13 boards at the national, regional, state or local levels for organizations such as Girls Incorporated (formerly Girls Clubs of America), United Way of Central Maryland and the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore.

From 1990 to1993, DeKuyper served as senior volunteer advisor to National Biomedical Services of the American Red Cross. During this time, she also chaired the Central Maryland Chapter of the Red Cross and was founding chair of the organization's Greater Chesapeake Blood Region, both headquartered in Baltimore. In 1993 she was elected to the National Board of Governors of the American Red Cross, where she served for six years as a member of the board's executive, public support, audit and biomedical services committees. She currently serves as an ex-officio member of the board and its executive, biomedical services and human resources committees. She is an elected member of the Youth Commission of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

In May 2000, DeKuyper received the American Red Cross' Harriman Award for Distinguished Volunteer Service, the highest award bestowed by the organization. That same year she received the William J. Casey Award for service to the Central Maryland Chapter and the community, and was the inaugural recipient of the Mary H. DeKuyper Award for Volunteer Leadership. The United Way of Central Maryland presented her with the Clementine Petersen Award for Volunteer Leadership. She was named one of Maryland's Top 100 women in 2001 and 2002.

DeKuyper is the author of "The Trustee Handbook: A Guide to Effective Governance for Independent Schools," first published by the National Association of Independent Schools in 1998 and revised in 2003.