Insurance on the High

East Greenwich resident Tempie Thompson has been named executive director of the R.I. chapter of the American Red Cross.

Thompson's association with the Red Cross began 20 years ago as a volunteer. A few years later, she accepted a full-time staff position in Massachusetts. Most recently, she served as the volunteer partner to regional leadership where she worked side-by-side with Rhode Island leadership and advised on high-level strategy for the overall operations of the local chapter.

She is actively involved in the planning and celebration of the R.I. Red Cross Chapter Centennial and will also focus on continuing the development of the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign within the region.

Amica Mutual Insurance Co.

Tara S. Costello, of Woonsocket, has been promoted to assistant vice president in the claims executive department and will oversee the claims departments and initiatives in her region.

She began her career at Amica as an associate adjuster in 2004 and has worked in several positions within the claims department, including in the Dallas, Michigan and Baltimore offices.

A 2003 graduate of Vassar College, Costello has also earned five insurance-related designations and two business-related designations.

John L. Strain III, of West Warwick, has been promoted to assistant vice president/director of corporate services in the corporate services department. He will oversee the day-to-day operations of facilities, real estate, distribution, purchasing, mail/scanning operations, print services, security operations and workplace violence.

He joined Amica as an associate adjuster in 1991 and has worked in various positions within the claims, service center operations and human resources departments, including in the Cincinnati and Wellesley offices.

Strain earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Hobart College in 1990.

The Nature Conservancy

Madelyne Cuddeback, of Providence, joined The Nature Conservancy in July as director of philanthropy. She is responsible for managing the philanthropic, corporate relations and communications programs.

Cuddeback’s career has included managing and directing corporate and individual fundraising programs at Brown University, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Ballet, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and, most recently, as associate vice president of advancement at Suffolk University. She is a graduate of Brown University.

Philanthropic Educational Organization

Betsy Dake, of East Providence, was elected secretary of the Northeast District Chapter of the P.E.O. Sisterhood during its 24th annual convention in Portland, Maine.

Founded at Iowa Wesleyan College in 1869, the goal of P.E.O. is to provide financial assistance to women in various phases of their educational pursuits.

An environmental planner for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Dake joined the organization in 2006. She graduated from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va., with a bachelor of science degree in biology and earned a master’s degree in environmental science and policy from Johns Hopkins University.