Girl Scouts of The USA - Organizational Structure

Organizational Structure

The national organization has its central headquarters in New York City. It has a staff of 400, and is headed by a Chief Executive Officer and a 40 member National Board of Directors. Kathy Cloninger has been the Chief Executive Officer since 2003 and retired in November 2011. Girl Scouts of the USA celebrated 100 years of history and welcomed its new chief executive officer, Anna Maria Chávez, at its National Council Session/52nd Convention in Houston from November 10–13, 2011. http://blog.girlscouts.org/2011/11/anna-maria-chavez-speaks-to-girl-scouts.html The Chair of the National Board of Directors, the highest volunteer position, is Connie L. Lindsey.

Below the national organization are councils, which cover a large portion of a state or geographic region. Some Councils own and run camps for the troops within its area of responsibility. Councils are usually subdivided again into areas, called Neighborhoods, Service Units, or Associations (terms vary), which are program delivery areas that consist of troops at all age levels in a smaller area, such as a town.

The basic unit is the troop which may or may not be sponsored. In contrast to Boy Scout troop chartered organizations, Girl Scout troop sponsors do not own the troop. Troops range in size from as small as six to as large as 30 or more girls and may be divided into several patrols of 8 or fewer girls.