Anna Maria Chávez took over as the country’s chief Girl Scout last November. She's the first Latina to head the 3.2 million member organization.
Chávez grew up in the tiny town of Eloy, Ariz., between Phoenix and Tucson. And, of course, she was in a troop.
“I went away for the first time to go camping without my family. That was a huge thing," she recalled during a recent visit to San Diego. "And since that point it really charged me up to think about boundaries outside of Eloy.”
Chávez went to law school and later worked in the administration of former Arizona governor, Janet Napolitano, now U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security.
Chávez said Girl Scouts of the USA is making a major effort to stay relevant to an increasingly diverse population of girls and their parents. They can still go camping, if they want, but the options for activities and learning have greatly diversified as girls have changed, she said.
“You know, nowadays girls are into technology. They’re figuring out how to be global citizens. They’re wondering how can they start their business at 10 years old,” she said.
Faced with lagging membership, the organization has also made a major effort to recruit more Latina girls and get their parents to volunteer. READ MORE
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