The Board of Directors of Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri announced today that Bonnie Barczykowski (BAR-cha-kow-ski) has been selected as Chief Executive Officer, effective August 1, 2013. Barczykowski, 47, has served as Chief Operating Officer at Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri since March 2012 and has been at the helm of further deepening the Girl Scout Leadership Experience.
During her leadership at Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri, Bonnie led the 2014-2016 Strategic Planning Process and restructured the Membership, Volunteer Training and Program departments to improve the leadership development experience for girls and adults. Girls play an integral role in the development of the program. Girl Scouting is girl-led—girls drive the experience they participate in by informing us about what they need.
“I am excited by the opportunity to execute the plan I helped develop and to serve our young women as CEO of Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri,” Barczykowski said. “We will know we have accomplished our mission when girls choose us for their leadership experience, when adults choose us to volunteer because of our excellent support and training and when communities ask what more they can do to support us financially. We have great things ahead of us and it is an exciting time to lead this amazing organization.”
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Girl Scouts provide opportunities for leadership at all ages. From the kindergarten Daisy Girl Scout who learns how to take turns, who listens when someone else is talking and who gains the confidence to raise her hand to answer a question, to the fourth grade Junior Girl Scout who has the opportunity to serve as the girl officer of her troop, to the high school Girl Scouts who are given the opportunity to serve on a Council Level Committee or be one of the girl members of our Board of Directors, girls in eastern Missouri are given the opportunity to lead in many ways on many levels.
Barczykowski impacted those leadership opportunities by restructuring programs to make sure every girl has even more breadth and depth in her leadership experience.
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“Our Girl Scout leadership experience, as it evolves, fills the gap between where girls are today and where they want to be,” Barczykowski said. “Our programs are powerful but we are constantly evaluating them to ask, ‘Do they fill in the gaps?’ We have to constantly evolve, too.”
Girl Scouts has a long and proud history of inclusiveness, girls come as they are, accepted and embraced for their uniqueness. Girl Scouting is a safe haven for a girl; it’s where she can make new friends and be herself. Daily, girls see images and media that depict them as lesser than boys and discourage them from taking a leadership role in their schools and communities. In fact, only 1 in 5 girls believes she has the key qualities needed to become a good leader, yet research shows that two-thirds (2/3) of women of professional achievement were Girl Scouts. Once a Girl Scout, Always a Girl Scout.
Vivian M. Luce, Vice President of Cejka Search and First Vice Chair, and H. Jill Fivecoat, Senior Vice President of Northern Trust, and member of the Board Development and Fund Development committees, co-chaired the search committee.
“After a thorough, six-month nationwide search, conducted under the direction of Executive Bridge, Barczykowski was unanimously selected as the leader for this organization,” Luce said.
“Her skills and experiences align with the Girl Scout mission of building girls of courage, confidence and character who help make the world a better place,” added Mary Ann Altergott, Talent Development Executive, Edward Jones, and Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri Board Chair.
Barczykowski said that she wants Girl Scouts to later reflect on who made a difference in their lives. “I want them to say, ‘My life was changed by my experience in Girl Scouts.’”
Prior to joining Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri, Barczykowski owned and operated five Curves fitness franchises in the St. Louis area. As an entrepreneur, she worked for Curves and was responsible for driving the performance of all five locations. She grew her centers to be the largest in the world. Before that, she held sales leadership roles with US Airways.
Barczykowski has a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in business administration from Lindenwood University. She has served on numerous boards and committees for organizations throughout St. Louis.