Blood Bank of Delmarva welcomes new vice president
Blood Bank of Delmarva recently announced Emily Cunningham will be leading the organization as its new vice president.
Cunningham will begin her new role at BBD in February; she will be based at the organization’s Christiana headquarters.
Before joining BBD, Cunningham served as chief of staff and policy analyst for the Delaware Department of Education, executing the priorities of the governor and education secretary as the department’s legislative liaison, and overseeing education policy, legislation and regulation work, as well as communications and human resources.
“I have worked with Blood Bank of Delmarva for years and look forward to leading the organization to its fullest potential,” said Cunningham. “I am grateful to Blood Bank of Delmarva’s leadership for the opportunity and am proud to be a part of an organization with the mission to support our region’s hospitals.”
“We could not be more thrilled to be welcoming Emily to our team. Throughout the years, Emily has demonstrated a remarkable dedication to serving the state of Delaware and its people,” said Patty Killeen, BBD senior vice president, enterprise operations and integration, blood operations, who has served as interim in this role, leading BBD for the last two years. “Her incredible experience in public service will be an essential asset as we look to the future of our organization and how we can recruit more blood donors to save more lives.”
Cunningham helped manage the 500-member staff at Delaware Department of Justice as deputy chief of staff for Attorney General Matthew P. Denn, and before that, served as deputy chief of staff in Lt. Gov. Denn’s office. A former press secretary for U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, Cunningham also has past experience in communications and program roles at BBD and Child Inc.
She has been a member of the Brandywine Valley SPCA executive board of directors since 2019 and is also a mentor in the Cape Henlopen School District, where she was honored as Mentor of the Year in 2011, 2013 and 2015. Cunningham earned a bachelor of arts degree in English literature from Gettysburg College.
