Alex Villa joined the American Red Cross in 2010 and currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer for the American Red Cross serving Central and South Texas. In his current role, Alex is responsible for the delivery of mission services to his 83-county territory which serves over 10 million Texans. Prior to, Alex served with the American Red Cross in Central California in Disaster Cycle Services, and supported National relief efforts for Hurricane Sandy, the Joplin Missouri tornadoes, Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting, the Oso Washington Mudslide, and Hurricane Harvey.
Alex concentrates on bringing efficiency and compassion to the sphere of humanitarian work, and with over 15 years of experience in the non-profit world, Alex has developed a reputation for exceptional work managing both people and programs. Most notably, Alex is credited for the development and implementation of the Sound the Alarm Home Fire Campaign, an initiative in which the Red Cross installs smoke alarms in low-income, at-risk neighborhoods across the country. To-date, the program has installed over 2.5 million alarms and has a recorded 1,472 lives saved nationwide. This work secured Alex the American Red Cross Presidential Award for Excellence for “Revitalizing the Brand,” and a nomination for the President Barack Obama FEMA Community Readiness Award in 2014.
Alex received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Marketing Option with a certificate in Mass Communication and Journalism from California State University, Fresno, and utilized this experience to serve as the Marketing Chair of the Board of Directors for the Austin Young Chamber from 2018 to 2022. He is an alumnus of the 2018-19 Hispanic Austin Leadership program led by the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce where he is currently serving on the Board of Directors. In 2013, Alex was named as one of the “40 Under 40” by the Business Journal of Central California, was a Final Four finalist for the John C. Maxwell Transformational Leadership Award.
Alex resides in Austin, Texas, with his partner, Joseph and their corgi, Jaida. Alex enjoys swimming, tennis, travel, and visiting locally-owned restaurants and breweries.