GSUSA Announces New CEO

Effective November 14, 2011, Anna Maria Chavez will become the next national CEO for Girl Scouts.  Below is a bio on Ms. Chavez from the Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas (San Antonio, Texas) website, where Ms. Chavez is the current CEO.

Anna Maria Chávez is Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas (GSSWT).  A Girl Scout alumna and lifetime member, she is an award-winning community leader and motivational speaker.  Since her arrival in May 2009, Ms. Chávez has been busy engaging the community as she advocates for issues important to girls and relevant to their growth and development. As the nation’s largest organization for girls, Girl Scouts helps every girl transcend the barriers that face her…wherever she lives, whatever her circumstance.

Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas serves nearly 30,000 girl and adult members in its 21-county area.  Headquartered at the Sally Cheever Girl Scout Leadership Center in San Antonio, GSSWT has an annual budget of $5.5 million and employs 65 full and part-time staff.  Facilities include the newly constructed leadership center, two camp properties in the Texas Hill Country, the Avenida Guadalupe Girl Scout Center near downtown San Antonio, and nine satellite centers in outlying areas.

Prior to accepting the position of CEO, Ms. Chávez served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Urban Relations and Community Development for the former Governor of Arizona and current U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano. As Deputy Chief of Staff, Chávez oversaw Military and Veteran Affairs, Faith-based and Community Initiatives, Human Services, Child Protective Services, as well as Housing and Intergovernmental Affairs. Chávez is a licensed attorney and practiced law in Washington, D.C. before serving the Governor’s administration.

Lauded for her work in military affairs, Ms. Chávez is a recipient of The Adjutant General’s Medal and the Diversity Champion Leadership Award presented by the Arizona National Guard. Anna was also honored with the Exemplary Leadership Award by Valle del Sol in 2008 and was named Woman of the Year at the Latina Excellence Awards in 2007. Since arriving in San Antonio, Anna Maria Chávez received the inaugural ATHENA Organizational Leadership Award in 2010 and was inducted into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame in March 2011.

Ms. Chávez holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Arizona, College of Law and a B.A. in American History from Yale University. Originally from Eloy, Arizona, Ms. Chávez resides in San Antonio with her 9 year old son, Michael, and husband Robert, a financial industry executive.

Girl Scouts of
Middle Tennessee

4522 Granny White Pike
Nashville, TN 37204 www.gsmidtn.org
615 383 0490

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