IRS Commissioner Named to Lead Red Cross

One day after taxpayers filed their annual returns, the American Red Cross picked the head of the Internal Revenue Service to take over the disaster-relief agency as it struggles to restore a reputation damaged by its responses to Hurricane Katrina and other recent catastrophes.

The Red Cross Board of Governors voted yesterday to name IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson, the nation's top tax man since 2003, as the new president and chief executive of the $6 billion organization. Everson will start next month, a few weeks before hurricane season and just as Congress is expected to approve a broad restructuring plan for the federally chartered agency.

"I look forward to working with the outstanding volunteers, staff and board during this defining period in the history of the Red Cross," Everson said in a statement.

Red Cross Chairman Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, in a statement, called Everson "a capable and compassionate leader whose proven experience and leadership skills will bring valuable expertise" to the Red Cross.

Everson will take over an organization that has proved unforgiving to those in the top job. Clashes with a large activist board have contributed to a turnover rate that makes Everson the fifth chief executive in six years. The many departures and a tradition of generous severance packages have led some at the Red Cross to dub the position "the best temporary job in Washington."

Everson will take over for interim chief executive John F. "Jack" McGuire, a Red Cross veteran who stepped in two years ago for Marsha J. Evans, a retired Navy admiral who didn't withstand widespread criticism of the organization's response to Katrina.

"He'll need a lot of courage and guts," said Bernadine Healy, a cardiologist and health administrator. She led the Red Cross for about two years and left soon after Sept. 11, 2001. "It's a potentially great organization with a lot of challenges."

Reaction to Everson's hiring was generally positive on Capitol Hill, where the organization's efforts to change have come under increasing scrutiny and faced waning patience. After complaints about the agency's performance from disaster victims, local chapters and whistle-blowers, the House and Senate have passed amendments to the Red Cross charter intended to streamline the organization, the only individual charity mandated by the federal government to assist Americans when catastrophe strikes.

President Bush picked Everson to run the IRS when, like the Red Cross, it was going through a broad overhaul. Everson has pushed for greater compliance with the tax law by cracking down on dubious tax shelters and the use of tax-exempt status by charities and nonprofit groups. He is credited with collecting more of the money that taxpayers owe and targeting offshore tax havens.

Everson previously served as deputy director for management in the Office of Management and Budget.

Some Red Cross critics pointed to Everson's lack of nonprofit experience and also his central role in the White House's original planning for the Department of Homeland Security.

"If that's his badge of accomplishment on how you design effective organizations, he's got a lot of learning to do," said Paul Light, professor of public service at New York University.