New York ? American Red Cross President Marsha J. Evans, who oversaw the charity’s vast and sometimes criticized response to Hurricane Katrina, is resigning effective at the end of this month because of friction with her board of governors, the organization said Tuesday.

Red Cross spokesman Charles Connor said the board was not unhappy with Evans’ handling of the hurricane response, “but had concerns about her management approach, and coordination and communication with the board.”

Jack McGuire, the executive vice president of the charity’s Biomedical Services, was named to serve as interim president and CEO while a search for a permanent successor to Evans is conducted.

Evans, a former Navy rear admiral and head of the Girl Scouts of the USA, took over as Red Cross president in August 2002 as the organization was shaking off criticism of how it handled some donations sent in response to the 9-11 attacks.

The Red Cross emerged from that controversy with promises of greater openness and accountability, but the unprecedented challenges posed by this year’s hurricanes raised new problems. Critics said the Red Cross failed to respond quickly enough in some low-income, minority areas.

Evans, 58, acknowledged in September that the organization’s response to Katrina and Hurricane Rita had been uneven, and said that the destructive power of the storms – along with the flooding that followed – “eclipsed even our direst, worst-case scenarios.”