Following a national search, Marisa C. Williams has arrived in Minnesota as the new chief executive officer of Girl Scouts River Valleys, which serves 19,000 girls in southern Minnesota, western Wisconsin, and one Iowa county.
“My passion and purpose have intersected for me in this new opportunity to spark joy in the hearts of girls,” Williams told Sheletta Brundidge during a conversation on the “Sheletta Show” on WCCO. This was Williams’ first broadcast interview after assuming her new role.
Williams arrived in Minnesota from Pennsylvania, where she was a prominent non-profit leader. After five years as regional executive director at the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh, she became CEO of North Hills Affordable Housing (HEARTH) in Pittsburgh.
“I was managing a lot of heavy stuff that is critically important. With affordable housing, we worked with families in crisis, without homes. A lot of them were children,” Williams told Sheletta. “Now I can get on the preventative side of that. How can we inspire and encourage and empower our girls to be sure that’s not their story?”
Williams and her team have set an ambitious goal to reach more girls from underserved communities. The local Girl Scouts want to increase the number of Black and Brown girls who participate in scouting by 25% by the year 2024.
“As we move into our hundred-year history, we think about, what girls are missing? What girls can we bring into the fold?” she said. “Through Girl Scouts, we can encourage more girls in leadership and entrepreneurship.”
Williams herself recalled selling cookies when she was a Brownie scout. She’s excited about this year’s annual Girl Scout Cookie campaign.
Cookie lovers can text “cookies” to 59618 to find nearby cookies available for sale. At the website www.girlscouts.org, cookie fans can type in their zip code to arrange for a delivery or to find the closest place where scouts are selling cookies outside stores or at churches.
This year, 13 varieties of cookies are available. In addition to the old favorites like Thin Mints, Tagalongs, Samoas and Do-si-dos, the Girl Scouts are introducing Raspberry Rally, a crispy cookie infused with raspberry flavor and dipped in a chocolaty coating.
While the public may relate to Girl Scouts through the annual March cookie campaign, Williams said the organization has broader goals for engaging with its young membership through service and programs.
“We are always thinking about what is available to our girls,” she said. “We want to bring in more leaders and mentors from industry, construction, and technology and expose girls to areas of opportunity that they can turn into careers when they are long done with selling cookies.”
This story was provided in part by the “Sheletta Show.”