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Stamford, Conn. – Aug. 16, 2023 – Americares, the health-focused relief and development organization, has welcomed Felicia Macdonald as its new senior vice president and chief marketing officer. In this role, Macdonald is charged with elevating the profile of Americares by providing both strategic leadership and hands-on tactical execution of the organization’s global marketing and communications efforts. She leads an in-house team of content creators dedicated to building the Americares brand and sharing the impact of its health programs through compelling storytelling, strategic public relations and engaging social media.
“Felicia brings to Americares over 15 years of experience directing strategic marketing, communications and brand building initiatives globally,” said Americares President and CEO Christine Squires. “She is a visionary leader and will be instrumental in taking our brand affinity to new heights. We are excited to have her on board.”
Prior to joining Americares, Macdonald served as vice president of strategic communications and public affairs at Thinx, a health and wellness brand that specializes in reusable period and incontinence products. During her tenure, she oversaw the organization’s advocacy arm, working closely with industry and non-profit partners to make a measurable impact to end period poverty, usher in a new era of consumer behavior favoring sustainable personal hygiene products, and normalize the conversation around periods and incontinence for generations to come. Macdonald also oversaw media relations and internal communications, strategic cross marketing partnerships and influencer marketing. She spearheaded the launch of Thinx’s purpose-driven 1 Purchased = 1 Donated program, which aims to improve access to period products for the underserved.
Prior to Thinx, Macdonald served as the director of corporate affairs and communications at American Express for nearly a decade. In this role, she led external communications for the company’s U.S. B2B business unit and built a coalition of nonprofit partners to participate in a financial inclusion campaign entitled “Spent: Looking for Change” that put a spotlight on the challenges of living paycheck to paycheck in the U.S.
Macdonald also served as a senior vice president for the strategic communications firm Porter Novelli, where she oversaw Hewlett Packard’s global integration account work. In this role, she built and trained an agency team across the Africa, Europe, Japan/Asia Pacific and Middle East regions to support Hewlett Packard’s local communications efforts and global rebrand. Macdonald also held senior management roles with public relations agencies Ogilvy and Ruder Finn, where she led corporate communications for a number of technology and financial services clients.
“I’m honored and humbled to be taking on the role of reimagining the Americares brand at this transformational moment for the organization,” noted Macdonald. “As the architect of a strategy that will elevate our profile, I’m dedicated to making the team and the people we serve the hero of our stories.”
A leader in the humanitarian sector, Americares is No. 10 on Forbes list of Top 100 Charities and a four-star rated charity—the highest possible—by Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator. Americares helps communities prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters; increase accessibility, availability, affordability and acceptability of medicine and medical supplies; improve and expand clinical services; and prevent disease and promote good health. Since it was founded more than 40 years ago, Americares has provided $22 billion in aid to 164 countries, including the United States.
Macdonald earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from New York University. She earned a certificate in urban planning and design from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and completed an urban planning program at Tulane University.
She lives in Westfield, N.J. with her husband and two children.