American Red Cross of the Illinois River Valley welcomes new board members

The American Red Cross of the Illinois River Valley announces the appointment of Pete Colarelli and Kristin Short to the organization’s board of directors.

Pete Colarelli is currently acting as ExxonMobil’s Midwest public affairs manager, coordinating events, communications and charitable giving.

Throughout his professional career, he has worked as a litigation and corporate paralegal in Chicago and served as a Lockport Police Officer for almost 10 years.

As a police officer, he earned Officer of the Year honors and was appointed to the positions of crime prevention officer and high school liaison officer.

Colarelli left the police department in 2006 to serve as the director of development, public relations and the Lockport Township High School Foundation.

In 2007, Colarelli was elected to the Lockport City Council and served on the city’s finance committee, the law and ordinance committee and the public safety committee until his term ended in 2015.

He was appointed to the Lockport board of police commissioners in 2016 and oversees the hiring of new officers, as well as the promotional process for sergeants and lieutenants.

After leaving Lockport Township High School in 2008, Colarelli joined CITGO as the public and government affairs manager for its Lemont refinery and led fundraising events for the United Way, Muscular Dystrophy Association and Multiple Sclerosis Society.

He volunteered for numerous community governing boards while at CITGO and received the Distinguished Service Award by Child Care Resource & Referral in 2016.

Colarelli has also served as the president of the Lockport Chamber of Commerce and as chair for the Everest Academy board of directors.

He was hired by ExxonMobil in 2017 as its midwest government affairs manager, leading advocacy in the seven states near their operational facilities in the region.

Colarelli was born in Chicago and raised in New Lenox. He attended Providence Catholic High School and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, California.

He also attended Lewis University in Romeoville and earned a Master of Arts degree in organizational leadership for public policy and higher education in 2006.

Colarelli received additional education through the legal assistant certification program at Roosevelt University in Chicago and police academy training with the Illinois State Police and the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards board.

He and his wife are active in their church and volunteer as marriage preparation facilitators for the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Pete and Angela live in Lockport with eight of their ten children.

Kristin Short has over 16 years of experience in fundraising, communications, and alumni relations within the higher education sector.

Short is currently the vice president for advancement at the University of St. Francis where she is responsible for designing and implementing a comprehensive institutional advancement program focused on increasing constituent involvement and fundraising outcomes.

She leads the office in the annual fund, alumni and family relations, corporate and foundation relations, community and government relations, major gifts and gift planning, grant management, capital campaigns, special events, stewardship and advancement services.

Before beginning her role at USF, she was the vice president of leadership giving at Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana.

Short earned her Master of Public Administration from the University of Illinois and has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana.

She lives in Glen Ellyn, where she enjoys spending time with her husband, Dave, and their four children, playing tennis, traveling and/or reading.

Short is an active member of St. Petronille Church, Glenbard West Boosters Board, Association of Fundraising Professionals and Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

For more information, visit redcross.org/ILRiver.