Five Questions: Marisa DeClue

Q: What prompted your decision to leave the Red Cross?

A: I had it in my mind that for me to meet some of my long-term goals, I had wanted to work in a nonprofit but also work in the for-profit side. To achieve those goals, I realized the time was coming where I had to take that step.

Q: What is your biggest goal in your new job with Metropolitan?

A: We want to redesign our Web site (www.gladwemet.com) to make it more user-friendly, so our customers can get on there and do a lot of their banking business from home or from work if it’s a business account. We’re hoping to be ready by the end of this month – there’s just a few finishing touches to take care of.

Q: What’s the most difficult emergency you’ve dealt with at the Red Cross?

A: We’ve had a lot of things over the past few years that have been big obstacles for our community, starting with the tornadoes a few years ago. Then there was the tornado last year that came through the Nixa/Billings area. Before that we had hurricane evacuees coming in. Then, of course there’s the ice storm, which was for me personally the most challenging disaster we’ve responded to. It was hard to separate your personal life from your work when you come to work knowing that your family is going through the same things everyone else is going through. (Note: The Red Cross served more than 3,000 people through 28 shelters during and after the ice storm.)

Q: A recent seminar in Springfield talked about public trust being an increasing problem for nonprofits across the country. How did you deal with that issue?

A: Public trust is something we always have to keep in mind. Whenever you have a disaster, you’re really put in the public eye and people start critiquing you a little more, which I think is great. It helps keep the organization in line and makes sure that money is being spent the way it’s supposed to be.

Q: What challenges do charities face now and in the future?

A: There are more nonprofits popping up every day … competing for funds. There’s not extra money there – people are just having to figure out where to give it.