Kathy Cloninger Celebrates First Anniversary
as CEO

October 28, 2004

By Carole Wehberg, staff writer

	Kathy Cloninger celebrates her first anniversary as CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA.
	Cloninger enjoys spending time with Girl Scouts.

On October 20, Kathy Cloninger completed her first year as Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of the USA. In an interesting coincidence, the date falls just before the anniversary of the birthday of the founder of Girl Scouting, Juliette Gordon Low. As the current leader and trustee of the organization Low founded, Cloninger talks about the strength of Girl Scouting today and her role in preserving and expanding it.

Q. What do you enjoy most about your new job?

A. There's so much about it I love. I think it really is the fast pace and variety. Not only is every day different, every hour is different! I can spend one hour in a National Board meeting talking about developing an advocacy platform for girls, and the next minute I'm on my way to Washington, D. C., to talk to representatives of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, then I'm off to a Girl Scouts' annual meeting in another city and back the next day for a staff meeting at headquarters. It moves so fast you never have time to get bored.

Q. How do you think Juliette Gordon Low would feel about Girl Scouting if she could see what it entails today?

A. I think she would be really proud and excited. Some people might find it funny but I really do open up the 1912 handbook from time to time. Juliette founded this Movement because she felt there was a lot girls were missing out on and a lot that they had to contribute to their country and to their community. In her day it was risqué for girls to be outside in their swimming gear. The frontiers are different for girls today. Now girls are getting into science and technology. I think Juliette would be pleased that we're helping girls to envision themselves in different roles.

Q. As CEO, what has inspired you most about Low's vision for girls?

A. For me it's staying true to the roots of what it takes to help girls stay courageous and strong. It's inspiring to know you help girls build self-confidence and the belief that they can do whatever they want to in their lives and inspire them to give back to society. Whether a Girl Scout volunteers to help women in domestic violence shelters or works to alleviate hunger, I love that she can begin stepping into community action roles. That's the kind of balance Juliette Gordon Low always envisioned and it's still relevant and inspiring.

Q. What do you think is the most important thing about leading Girl Scouts today?

A. I think the most important thing is to really stay true to our all-girl focus. I've seen other youth organizations move towards a co-ed structure. There are fewer single-sex youth programs available today. Girl Scouting really is the largest and one of the last organizations where girls don't need to worry about what their male peers think about them and where they can take risks and feel safe doing it. I think we need to continue to provide that all-girl experience.

Q. What's the biggest challenge?

A. One of my challenges is to preserve the Girl Scout tradition and core values while helping to shape the organization for girls in 2004. We've got nearly three million girls and one million adults who care very much about what we do in the organization. And yet, we do have to keep changing. We need to keep our eye on girls. Their lives are changing; their world runs faster. They've got a million more options flying at them than Juliette could ever have conceived. So how do we make the right decisions that bring enough change to keep girls interested but still protect the integrity of Girl Scouting? It's a constant day-to-day challenge for me to think about that balance.

Q. How has your life changed since taking on this new role?

A. Well, of course, living in New York City is different from living in Nashville, Tennessee.

Q. What's different?

A. Well, I've had to figure out how to get to work in the morning! Do I take a cab? Do I get on the subway? You know, you don't get in your car and pull up to the office and park in the parking lot the way we're used to doing in so many other cities. It's an incredibly rich and diverse city—much more so than any other city I've lived in. Just the hustle and bustle of life in New York. I used to go to the grocery store and then go home and cook. Now, like most New Yorkers, I have a whole drawer full of take-out menus!

Q. What's the one thing you're proudest of having accomplished this year?

A. I think I'm proudest of launching a process to develop a focused long-range strategy for Girl Scouting. For me it means asking and answering a lot of questions about the future: how we can be more responsive to today's girls and how we can continue to be the best in the world at what we do. I'm proud that this process is inclusive, participatory, and a real model for the nonprofit sector. I'm confident that it will help us to keep Girl Scouting relevant and responsive to girls.

Q. If girls could take away one message from you, what would it be?

A. I would say be proud that Juliette Gordon Low created something really just about girls. It has both historical significance and current significance. There's nowhere in this country where you can say "Girl Scouts" and find someone who doesn't know that it's the largest organization for girls. And they should take real pride in that fact. I would also say that there's a real power in living the Girl Scout Law. When you think about its message—about being honest and fair, courageous and strong, using resources wisely, respecting yourself and others, making the world a better place, and being a sister to every other Girl Scout—you realize that it's a code of ethics that can profoundly affect the choices that girls make as they grow into adults.