Nominated by:
Girl Scouts of the USA
Languages spoken:
English as mother tongue and intermediate Spanish
PERSONAL STATEMENT
What motivates you to serve on the WAGGGS World Board, and how would your experiences, skills, values, and perspective contribute to its governance, strategic leadership, and the global mission of the Movement?
Girl Scouting has enriched my life from my earliest days as a Brownie to traveling the world bonded in an international sisterhood. I want girls to have the same life-changing experiences that I had as a girl thanks to Girl Guiding/Girl Scouting. It is in that hope that I offer my services and experiences to WAGGGS to give back to the organization that has given so much to me.
I want to use my skills to help the girl. The girl who needs to believe in herself, who needs a caring adult, who needs a sisterhood. The girl who has been told you're not good enough, you're not smart enough, you will never be successful. The one who will receive less education than her brother and who will be subjected to a higher rate of violence over her lifetime. The same girl who will thrive and find inner strength and direction as a member of the Girl Guide/Girl Scout Movement. The girl who will develop confidence, lifelong friendships and become a leader in our world. The girl who will prove to the world the power of the girl and her rightful place in it.
I believe that my leadership, governance and financial experience can help WAGGGS grow and achieve its mission. I am a Certified Public Accountant with financial and management experience working for a global accounting firm and a multinational corporation. As a member of the WAGGGS Audit, Finance and Risk Committee and Chair of the WAGGGS Investment Subcommittee, I understand the financial challenges and opportunities facing WAGGGS.
I served as Board Chair of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts (48,000 members, USD $14 million budget) for six years including navigating multiple CEO changes and the COVID-19 pandemic with a 27-person board. This experience challenged my leadership skills
and developed my governance skills.
I was able to share my governance expertise by leading the design and delivery, with a multi-cultural facilitator team, of the WAGGGS Asia Pacific Governance Workshop in June 2024, sharing best practices and helping 10 MOs develop take-home plans to improve their governance practices. I have worked with seven charities (five related to Girl Scouting, two outside of Girl Scouting) in a variety of roles including board officer roles and numerous board committees. These experiences have given me the skills needed as a World Board member.
The key challenges facing WAGGGS are:
We must support our MOs by sharing best practices and giving targeted support in areas of greatest need. Strong MOs result in improving the lives of more girls and young women.
We must do more with less. Membership is growing in many parts of the world, but our financial resources are not growing at the same rate. Therefore, we must prioritize where to spend our limited resources and how to diversify revenue streams.
As a World Board member, I would address these challenges by using my financial background and analytical skills to assess areas for improvement particularly regarding budget and financial decisions.