Honoring Powerful Female Role Models

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Today marked the 18th Annual Women of Distinction Breakfast hosted by the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York. The event honored 5 professional women, and one future leader.

With more than 23,000 girl scouts, and the goal to expand to 100,000 girls by 2017, the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York is working hard to empower the next generation of female leaders. One honoree, Barbara Cooperman, Global Chief Marketing Officer for LexisNexis Group, explained that one of the outcomes of the Girl Scouts is putting “more women in leadership roles – and we should set that expectation for girls.”

She added that Girl Scouts is not just about selling cookies and camping – one of the top benefits of an all girl organization is that “all of the leaders are female role models.”

The numbers show that Girl Scouting does encourage and prepare girls to reach higher. In fact, as Patricia Stensrud, Board President of the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York pointed out, 80% of women executives and business owners were girl scouts – as well as every female US astronaut.

Deborah Norville, emcee of the event and anchor of Inside Edition, said that Girl Scouting teaches girls about confidence. “Confidence comes not from being right all the time. Confidence comes from not being afraid to be wrong.”

The honorees included Cooperman; Terri D. Austin, Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion, The McGraw-Hill Companies; Arlene Isaacs-Lowe, Senior Vice President, Moody’s Investment Service; Vanessa Lau, Chief Financial Officer, Alcoa Global Rolled Products; and Nadja Swarovski, Vice President, International Communications, Swarovski. The winner of the Future Woman of Distinction award was Carolina Torres, an Ambassador Girl Scout from Queens, NY.

Remarks by the Honorees

Terri D. Austin, Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion, The McGraw-Hill Companies, said, “Every woman in this room is a woman of distinction.” She continued, “When I was growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, my mother and grandmother instilled in all of us the need to give back,” which is something she sees Girl Scouts teaching girls every day.

Barbara Cooperman, Global Chief Marketing Officer for LexisNexis Group, said, “This tribute actually belongs to 23,000 girl scouts who are the future leaders of our world.” Cooperman, who appeared on stage wearing her own badge sash, said, “Selling cookies taught me basic principles of marketing and business,” which she said, she still relies on today.

Arlene Isaacs-Lowe, Senior Vice President, Moody’s Investment Service, dedicated her award to her grandmother, who, she said, encouraged her to join Girl Scouts when she was a child. She said, “As women we are instinctive nurturers, and sometimes we try to suppress that in our professional lives.” But, she continued, each individual should be true to herself and live authentically. Having mentored several young people, she said, “The pipeline of young men and women whose [careers] I have helped to accelerate is a legacy I hope to leave behind.”

Vanessa Lau, Chief Financial Officer, Alcoa Global Rolled Products, recalled the pride she felt when she was chosen to join the Brownies when she was a growing up in Hong Kong, (because at that time in Hong Kong girl scouts were selected). Rather than selling cookies to raise funds, Lau and her troop sold stickers. Learning teamwork and handling money, she said, “Girl Scouts helped prepare me for a life long love of numbers.” She continued, “It truly ignited a fire in me that I could do anything and be anything I wanted to be, as long as I put my head, my heart, and my passion into it.”

Nadja Swarovski, Vice President, International Communications, Swarovski said she was thrilled to be in the company of the other honorees. “They blow me away and I realize I have so much to learn.” She said that Girl Scouting teaches girls that “every individual has the ability to make a positive contribution to one’s own environment.”

Carolina Torres, Ambassador Girl Scout, Troop 4253, Queens was honored as a Future Woman of Distinction. Torres recently completed her Gold Award for planning both a health fair at her church and a toy and clothing drive for children at an orphanage in her birth city in the Dominican Republic, and after college plans to become a pediatrician. She said “It’s hard to imagine where I would be today without my extended Girl Scout family.”

Each of these women leaders talked about the value of female role models in encouraging girls to step into leadership roles. Each communicated the importance of the values instilled by Girl Scouting – courage, confidence, and character – in building a better future. Isaacs-Lowe quoted Gandhi in relating the value of Girl Scouting – that each girl learns she can “be the change you wish to see in the world.”