The American Red Cross of Colorado has appointed Bill Werner as interim executive director of the Southwest Colorado Chapter.

Werner, who will concurrently serve the Red Cross chapter in the San Luis Valley, replaces former Southwest Colorado Director Cindi Shank, who began her job as disaster program manager for Wyoming on Nov. 1.

The Southwest chapter serves Dolores, San Juan, Montezuma, La Plata and Archuleta counties.

Werner has worked with the Red Cross for over four years, serving as an executive board member from 2009-11 and most recently as disaster services program manager. During the West Fork Fire complex, Werner worked as the Red Cross assistant job director, coordinating Red Cross services with state and local emergency management.

Werner has worked as the disaster service coordinator in the San Luis Valley for two years. He lives in Alamosa, and will continue to provide his services to the San Luis Valley area while working with the Southwest Colorado chapter.

“I intend to provide the high quality services that this community has come to expect from the Red Cross,” Werner said in a news release from the Red Cross.

Shank left recently to move to Gillette, in northeast Wyoming, where her husband, Bill Shank, was hired as the division chief for Campbell County Fire Department. Cindi Shank was Southwest Colorado chapter director for 6½ years.

Hannah Robertson is a Durango High School senior who is spending several hours a week studying media in the Herald newsroom