Frances Hesselbein entered the interview with a sense of calmness. She 
was sure there were other more qualified candidates. But, to her surprise, Frances landed the job as the President & CEO of Girl Scouts USA. Her work in this position would eventually earn her the distinguished Presidential Medal of Freedom.
This Women’s History Month, we celebrate women like Frances and organizations like Girl Scouts, who have made history by developing leadership opportunities to help women and girls empower themselves. More than 1-in-3 women in the United States were Girl Scouts at some point in their lives, and Women’s Foundation of Boston (WFBoston) is proud to have Girl Scouts of Central and Western MA (GSCWM) and Girls Scouts of Eastern MA (GSEMA) as grantee partners.
It’s a Girl’s World in Central and Western MA
To empower future history makers, WFBoston partnered with GSCWM to help fund their It’s a Girl’s World initiative. This initiative reaches girls without access to traditional Girl Scout activities, usually from lower-income, underserved communities. With offerings in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math), financial literacy, and healthy living, participants discovered they improved life-changing skills:
- I will stand up for myself – (50% to 91%)
- I will be a better friend by telling my friends when they are good at something – (77% to 100%)
- I see myself in a STEM career – (54% to 91%)
Life Lessons Learned
The It’s a Girl’s World program offers participants a path to the future, enabling them to write their own history. One program volunteer commented, “The girls learned valuable lessons about teamwork and cooperation. Throughout this program, I saw the girls grow not only in their knowledge of the content, but in their ability to ask and answer questions, work with others, and communicate important ideas.”
Pivoting to Online to Reach More Girls
Who could have predicted the obstacles Girl Scouts would face because of the pandemic? One of the reasons Frances Hesselbein was called the “greatest CEO you’ve never heard of” was her ability to change the organization’s focus to meet the needs of the time. Girl Scouts of Eastern MA (GSEMA) did the same over the past two years. Facing the challenge of keeping their members engaged, GSEMA pivoted to virtual programming. With the financial support of WFBoston, they created the Girl Scouts at Home program.
How Does Girl Scouts at Home Keep Girls Connected?
Girl Scouts at Home, for grades K-12, builds essential life skills while exploring progressive, Girl-Scout-led activities. This program enabled their members to stay engaged with scouting during the pandemic and fulfill their thirst for learning. By supporting GSEMA’s pivot to virtual programming, WFBoston covered the costs for staff, supplies, technology, and financial assistance for 300 Girl Scouts. One participant shared an important lesson learned through the program, “Even when you do something, and every part of it fails, there is always a lesson to learn.”
What Other Notable Women Were Girl Scouts?
We’re confident that the Massachusetts area Girl Scout programs will 
give rise to future history makers. According to Girl Scouts USA, currently, there are more than 50 million Girl Scout alums who are leaders from all walks of life. Every female secretary of state in US history is a Girl Scout or Girl Guide alum: Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice, and Hillary Clinton.
Other famous Girl Scout alums include:
- Lucille Ball, comedian
- Sandra Day O’Connor, former Supreme Court Justice
- Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Olympian
- Serena Williams, professional athlete
- Sally Ride, NASA astronaut, first woman crew member in space
- Taylor Swift, singer/songwriter
Former Girl Scouts at the Women’s Foundation of Boston
Girl Scouting hits close to home at WFBoston. Not only does the Foundation fund several Girl Scouting programs, but many of the more than 150 Women’s Foundation of Boston volunteers are Girl Scout alums.
Nicole Booth, WFBoston Volunteer and Social Media Manager, reflects on her 12 years as a Girl Scout:
From starting as a Daisy to earning the highest award in Girl Scouting – the Gold Award – I look back on my time in Girl Scouts as fundamental to who I am today. Girl Scouts taught me a sense of awareness of the world around me. Examining issues in my community and beyond enabled me to tackle challenges and find lasting solutions at a young age. Ultimately, this work empowered me to see my own potential to impact the lives of others. These lessons stay true to who I am today as someone who dreams of – and works toward – a better tomorrow for women and girls everywhere. My experience with Girl Scouts is the foundation for my passion to supply women and girls with the tools they need for economic empowerment. This passion is what drew me to volunteering for WFBoston.
How Can I Support Future History Makers?
In recognizing Women’s History Month, we reflect on the courage of past generations of women and celebrate their efforts and bravery in affording opportunities for future generations. Women like Frances Hesselbein and the Girl Scout alums at WFBoston have paved the way for girls today. At WFBoston, we commend these women and look forward to celebrating the future change-makers from Girl Scouts of Central and Western MA and Girl Scouts of Eastern MA!
Empower the girls and women to become the history-makers of tomorrow by donating to the Women’s Foundation of Boston at www.wfboston.org/donate.
Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, was named President and CEO of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2016. She is also Director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and the Richard and Susan Smith Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Previously, she was the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean and Professor of Medicine of Weill Cornell Medicine and Provost for Medical Affairs of Cornell University. Dr. Glimcher is a distinguished immunologist, widely renowned for her work in one of the most promising areas of cancer research.
Linda Henry is the CEO of the Boston Globe Media Partners. She is a co-founder of HUBweek, a civic collaboration between the Boston Globe, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, and MIT that explores the future being built at the intersection of art, science and technology. Linda is also an early-stage impact investor, an Emmy-Award winning television producer with two shows currently airing, and a community activist. She serves as a director of the Red Sox Foundation, is a trustee of the Liverpool Football Club Foundation, chair of the Boston Globe Foundation, and chairman of the John W. Henry Family Foundation. In addition, she is a founder of the Boston Public Market, serves on the advisory board of MassChallenge, and is on the board of the Engine at MIT. She earned a BS from Babson College and her MS from MIT.
Bekah Salwasser joined the Red Sox Foundation as the Executive Director in January of 2018. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Brown University and has extensive experience in philanthropy and both professional and semi-professional sports. After four years working as Community Relations Director for the Boston Celtics, Bekah went on to lead Scholar Athletes as its Executive Director, a program that supports public high school athletes with both their athletic and academic achievements. Earlier in her career, Bekah served as a professional soccer player for the Boston Breakers and as Executive Director of the Charlestown Lacrosse and Learning Center.
Kimberly Fay Boucher is a business executive who has driven high performance organizations in technology, consumer products and social enterprise/nonprofit industries over the past 25 years. She is currently the Technology Commercialization Business Leader for the CTO at Analog Devices, where she is responsible for driving new technologies from incubation stages to successful businesses. Kim is also a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she teaches Disciplined Entrepreneurship in the Martin Trust Center. She holds a BS in Management Industrial Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is a NCAA Academic All-American Women’s Basketball player and has been inducted into the WPI Hall of Fame.
Ami Kuan Danoff (Co-Founder and CFO) is a private investor and the trustee of a foundation. She is a Harvard Quantum Founder and a member of the Harvard FAS Dean’s Council. Ami earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in Visual and Environmental Studies and holds a dual master’s degree in Applied Economics and International Finance from the Sloan School of Management at MIT. She was a portfolio manager in global equities at Putnam Investments and co-manager of the Putnam International New Opportunities Fund, and also worked as an international equities analyst at Fidelity Investments.
Christina Heenan Suh holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in English and Marketing and a master’s from Columbia University. A former management consultant, her work focused on strategy and implementation projects for Fortune 100 clients. She was also an account executive at Hill+Knowlton (WPP) marketing consumer packaged goods. As an Executive Board Member of the Brookline Education Foundation, which funds professional development in the Brookline Public Schools, Christina led their Grant and Oversight Committees. She currently sits on the board of the Brookline Library Foundation and teaches ESL at Rosie’s Place in Boston.
Christina Gordon (Co-Founder and CEO) holds a dual master’s degree in International Finance and Applied Economics from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Boston University and also studied for a joint master’s degree in Women’s Studies and Sociology at Brandeis with a focus on women in the workplace. Christina is a former assistant fund manager and technology industry equity analyst at Wellington Management. She also worked as a stock analyst at Fidelity Investments. She is a trustee of a private foundation, a member of Women Moving Millions and currently sits on the board of Rosie’s Place, a sanctuary for poor and homeless women in Boston.