May 28 2025

GSUSA Partners with Harvard on Governance

National Governance    8 Comments    , , , ,

A couple of people sent me this press release recently posted on the National Delegate website:

We are pleased to announce that the Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Center for Public Leadership is partnering with GSUSA to conduct an assessment of GSUSA’s governance processes. The project will be led by Marshall Ganz, the Rita E. Hauser Senior Lecturer in Leadership, Organizing, and Civil Society, who brings decades of practice in teaching, researching, and writing on leadership. The Harvard team will partner with GSUSA staff and leadership to develop criteria for assessing the strengths of our Movement governance model, identify opportunities to learn from comparable organizations, and recommend improvements to Movement governance including ways of working and overall effectiveness. This external assessment is intended to complement the ongoing Movement governance assessment launched by the National Board in September 2023 and the work of the Movement Governance Advisory Team. The Harvard research team is eager to understand the experience and perspectives of National Council delegates. You may receive an email from senior researcher Alaina Segura [e-mail removed] inviting you to participate in surveys, focus groups, or interviews. Your participation is optional. The Harvard team will also meet with members of the National Board and the Movement Governance Advisory Team (MGAT) as part of its assessment. The Harvard team will share their insights with the National Board and MGAT in late fall 2025 so that MGAT can use the findings to inform their final report on Movement governance, to be delivered no later than the 58th National Council Session in July 2026. We look forward to collaborating with our National Council delegates on this important assessment of Movement Governance. Should you have any questions, please reach out to the Office of the National Board (boardoffice@girlscouts.org).  Continue reading

May 13 2025

A Blue Book Mystery of Majority

National Governance    4 Comments    , ,

I haven’t posted much lately, but I’ve been keeping myself busy doing non-Girl Scout things. Have I mentioned that I’m studying to become a certified parliamentarian? Yes, I recently joined the National Association of Parliamentarians, and hopefully come this July, I will pass the Registered Parliamentarian exam and become an official parliamentarian. I’ve been talking about doing this for about six years now, and it’s finally time that I put my money where my mouth is and actually do this thing. Eventually, I’d like to become a Professional Registered Parliamentarian, but first things first.

I’m taking a quick break from studying to indulge my inner nerd on a topic that will probably lull most of you to sleep – our own Blue Book (BB). For some reason, I find bylaws and other governing documents fascinating to study, and our collection of governing documents called the Blue Book of Basic Documents is one of my favorites. If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll know that I actually have a Blue Book collection dating all the way back to 1920! You might wonder what you can do with a Blue Book collection, but I’ve referred back to them quite a few times attempting to scratch an itch in my quirky curiosity. I don’t believe I’ve ever shared one of my research topics, but I figure it’s time to let you in on one. But in order to do that, you’ll have to stay awake long enough for a brief lesson in Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR). Continue reading

April 28 2025

Volunteer Burnout

Experiences as a Leader    3 Comments    , , ,

Credit: Getty Images/iStockphotoOne topic that I touched on a few months ago when I was experiencing self-doubt is burnout. It’s real, and at the risk of sharing too much, I’m going to discuss it and how it’s severely affecting me as a Girl Scout volunteer. I don’t think this is a recent development because I look at the signs and see that I’ve been struggling with it for at least four or five years. I just received my 15 Years of Service pin, and frankly, I don’t think I’ll make it to twenty. My youngest daughter graduates in two years, and I’m seriously wrestling with hanging it all up after she’s done.

So what are the signs of burnout? I pulled up some information online from a variety of sources. Here they are summarized (thanks to ChatGPT): Continue reading

April 5 2025

Badge Booklets are Now in VTK!

National Operations    7 Comments    , , , , ,

As I’ve documented before, our national badge programming’s organizational system needs some work. I’m a mentor for new leaders in our service unit, and they usually come in very confused and often ask one simple question: “Isn’t there a badge book that I can buy somewhere?” Unfortunately, the answer is no. At one point, I put together a matrix pointing leaders as to where they could find requirements for certain badges. As much as I love spreadsheets, it’s never really a good thing when you have to create one just to help others find the building blocks of your organization.

After the Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting binders were retired, each badge has to be purchased separately either via a $2.50 PDF download from the GSUSA store or a $3 hard copy from your council store or the online GSUSA shop. As you can imagine, that gets pretty pricey, especially if you are a new leader attempting to build your own badge book. Back in 2023, I estimated that it would cost a Junior leader $176 dollars to put together a badge book with all of the booklets, the handbook, and a large enough 3 ring binder to fit. Continue reading

March 4 2025

Thank You!

Random Things That Don't Fit Anywhere Else Kinda Like Me    2 Comments   

Thanks to everyone for your input and comments after my post the other day. I also had people reach out to me via phone calls and texts and even had lunch with friends today which helped. I am very blessed to have such a supportive community of friends and colleagues that I can lean on when things are overwhelming. A friend pointed out that within the past year, I have lost the communities that were grounding me, so it’s no wonder I feel disconnected and disengaged. This was very obvious once she pointed it out, but when you’re mired in the muck, the mud gets in your eyes and it’s hard to see. Once I realized this, a lot of things made sense, and it helped me reorient my way of thinking. I just need to readjust some priorities and be more patient. Thanks again for your support and comments. You are all very special to me.

March 2 2025

I Have a Dilemma

Random Things That Don't Fit Anywhere Else Kinda Like Me    8 Comments    , , , , , ,

So, dear reader, I wanted to share some of my recent thoughts with you and get your input. The reality is that I’ve been struggling with this for quite some time now, and it’s reached a point where it’s completely maddening to me. So instead of me continuing to wrestle with this alone, I’m going to share my innermost thoughts with you. If blogs could go through a mid-life crisis, this would be it.

Perhaps it would be helpful for me to share what I’m doing in GS now. Last year, my co-leader and I made the decision to “reboot” my troop with my co-leader taking over as the primary leader, and I would serve in a secondary role. Frankly, I’m burned out when it comes to troop business and badge programming. My youngest daughter is a 10th grader, so assuming she continues, I’ve still got two more years to go. I’m in my 15th year as a GS volunteer. I realize compared to a lot of folks, that’s young when it comes to GS years, but I feel like I’ve been through a lifetime in my GS career that I won’t rehash here. Continue reading

February 16 2025

Thinking About World Thinking Day

Opinions    2 Comments    , , , , , ,

In case you’re new to Girl Scouting, let’s revisit February 22 – one of the most important Girl Scout holidays – and known to everyone as World Thinking Day. To summarize from GSUSA:

World Thinking Day was first created in 1926 at the fourth Girl Guide/Girl Scout International Conference, held at Girl Scouts of the USA’s Camp Edith Macy (now called Edith Macy Conference Center). Conference attendees decided that there should be a special day when Girl Scouts and Girl Guides all around the world think of each other and give thanks and appreciation to their “sister” Girl Scouts. The delegates chose February 22 as the date for Thinking Day because it was the mutual birthday of Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scout movement, and his wife Olave, who served as World Chief Guide.

In 1932, at the seventh World Conference, held in Poland, a Belgian delegate suggested that since birthdays usually involve presents, girls could show their appreciation and friendship on Thinking Day not only by extending warm wishes but by offering a voluntary contribution to the World Association. This is how the World Association’s Thinking Day Fund began. The fund helps offer Girl Guiding/Girl Scouting to more girls and young women worldwide. Girl Scouts of the USA, through its Juliette Low World Friendship Fund, gives to the Thinking Day Fund.

Continue reading