Service Unit Team Bios

Council and National Awards

• President’s Award (2022): Recognizes a service unit team or group who surpasses team goals to result in a significant, measurable impact toward reaching the council’s overall goals.

• Appreciation Pin (2023): For outstanding service to at least one community. 

• Outdoor Trailblazer Award (2025): For providing outdoor experiences for girls. 

• Chris Arkley Significant Impact Award (2026): For continued outstanding service for 3 years after receiving the Appreciation Pin. 

Chris Arkley Significant Impact Award (2026)

It is my sincere pleasure to nominate Drea for the Chris Arkley Significant Impact Award. Drea has given many years of thoughtful, generous, and deeply impactful service to Service Unit 643, strengthening Girl Scouting for girls, families, troop leaders, and adult volunteers across our community.

Drea first became involved in Girl Scouts when her eldest daughter, now a rising 11th grader, was a Daisy. She began as a co-troop leader, and over the past eleven years she has continued to serve with remarkable dedication. What makes Drea’s service so meaningful is not only the number of roles she has held, but the spirit with which she approaches them. She is thoughtful, reliable, kind, creative, and deeply committed to helping girls and adults have positive, confidence-building Girl Scout experiences.

One of Drea’s most significant contributions to Service Unit 643 has been her leadership in the Girl Scout Cookie Program. As the service unit cookie program advisor, Drea has worked closely with troop leaders, families, girls, and council entrepreneurial program staff to make the cookie program more accessible and less intimidating for everyone who wants to participate. She has answered countless questions, supported leaders through eBudde and ABC Smart Cookie, helped troubleshoot challenges, and served as a trusted subject matter expert year after year. Because of Drea’s knowledge, patience, and willingness to help, troop leaders feel more confident supporting their girls, and girls are better able to participate successfully in one of Girl Scouting’s most important leadership and entrepreneurial programs.

Drea’s impact is also especially visible through her leadership with Service Unit 643’s Older Girl-led Camporee. For several years, she has served as an adult co-leader for this major service unit event, helping to interview, select, train, mentor, and support the Older Girls who plan and lead a weekend-long camporee for approximately 150 to 250 Girl Scouts. This is a tremendous responsibility, and Drea approaches it with care, intention, and a strong belief in girl-led leadership.

Through Camporee, Drea helps Older Girls truly own the leadership experience. She guides them without taking over, supporting them as they make decisions, solve problems, collaborate, and grow. Under this model, Older Girls plan and execute a large-scale event, mentor younger campers, and see themselves as capable leaders. Drea’s steady support has helped our service unit sell out available Camporee spots each year, demonstrating just how valued and successful this event has become.

The Older Girl-led Camporee model has become one of Service Unit 643’s most important strategies for retaining middle school and high school Girl Scouts, and Drea has played a major role in making that model successful. In the first year, only four or five Older Girls helped lead the event. The following year, that number grew to approximately ten to twelve. Last year, nearly twenty Older Girls applied and participated in the planning process, and this year the group continues with another strong cohort of Older Girl leaders. This growth reflects the culture Drea helps create: one where Older Girls feel valued, trusted, and excited to continue their Girl Scout journey.

Drea also understands that Camporee is often one of the only camping experiences some girls have with their troop or family. She helps the Older Girls recognize the importance of making the weekend welcoming, accessible, engaging, and memorable for every camper. Her leadership ensures that the Girl Scout Leadership Experience is present at every level: Older Girls lead and mentor, younger girls try new things and build confidence, and the entire service unit benefits from a meaningful, girl-led outdoor tradition.

Drea’s influence now reaches beyond our own service unit as well. In the past year, she joined Discoveree, a volunteer-led training event, to teach other volunteers how to organize and operate an Older Girl-led Camporee. She enthusiastically shared best practices from Service Unit 643’s model, and participants left encouraged and eager to try this approach in their own home service units. This is a clear example of Drea’s significant impact: she does not simply do excellent work herself; she helps other volunteers build the confidence and tools to create meaningful leadership opportunities for girls.

Drea will also be serving the broader council community this summer by volunteering at Kamp Konocti, the volunteer-run residential camp at Camp Tamarancho in Fairfax. As “Cricut,” she will be the friendly, caring face kampers greet when they come to medical for bandages, medication, comfort, or a warm hug. This role reflects Drea’s steady willingness to serve wherever she is needed and her deep commitment to creating safe, supportive Girl Scout experiences.

Drea has also continued her commitment to Girl Scouting in a beautiful full-circle way. During the 2025–2026 Girl Scout year, she is taking on a Daisy troop as a co-leader for her youngest daughter, a rising first grader, alongside Ruth Corsaro and their high school-aged daughters. Drea’s youngest daughter has grown up around Girl Scouts and has been eager to be part of it her whole life. It is wonderful to see Drea now creating for her younger daughter the same meaningful experiences she helped create for her older daughter. Even more special, when Drea’s and Ruth’s older daughters graduate out of Girl Scouts, the plan is for those girls to help lead the troop as it bridges to Brownies. This mother-daughter leadership “co-op” is a beautiful example of intergenerational Girl Scouting and speaks to the lasting culture of leadership Drea helps foster.

Drea’s service has had a significant and lasting impact on Service Unit 643 and beyond. She has supported girls as entrepreneurs, mentored adults as troop and cookie program leaders, empowered Older Girls as event planners and mentors, strengthened one of our service unit’s most beloved traditions, shared successful models with other volunteers, and helped create pathways for girls to remain engaged in Girl Scouts as they grow older. Her leadership is not confined to one role or one year; it is sustained, generous, creative, and deeply rooted in the mission of Girl Scouting.

Drea exemplifies the spirit of the Chris Arkley Significant Impact Award. She sees opportunities to serve and steps forward. She builds systems that help others succeed. She creates meaningful experiences for girls of all ages. She supports adult volunteers with patience and expertise. She gives her time, talents, and heart to Girl Scouts again and again.

Service Unit 643 is stronger because of Drea’s leadership, and countless girls and volunteers have benefited from her commitment. I wholeheartedly nominate Drea for the Chris Arkley Significant Impact Award. She is truly deserving of this recognition.

Nominated by Erin Garvey in June 2026.

Outdoor Trailblazer Award Nomination (2025)

Current position(s) (including number of years in each position if possible):

Service Unit 643 leadership team volunteer: 6 years; service unit cookie program advisor and manager: 6 years; troop leader: 4-6 years; troop volunteer in troop 60641: 3 years; Daisy program level mentor: 1 year; Daisy troop leader: 1 year; fall camporee coordinator: 4 years; school rep: 3+ years

Area(s) of impact:

Drea makes a positive impact wherever has the good fortune of her assistance and collaboration, and this is especially so within service unit 643 (northeast San Jose and Milpitas).

How she/he delivered outstanding service that made an impact: 

Drea has committed many years of service to service unit 643 and especially within the realm of facilitating our Older Girl-led Camporee for the past four years. Drea makes a big difference in several different ways in SU643.

Drea first became involved in Girl Scouts and the service unit when her eldest daughter, a rising 10th grader, was a Daisy; Drea was a co-troop leader.

Fast forward 11 years, and Drea has done so much for so many Girl Scout youth and adult volunteers within service unit 643.

Drea has served as the service unit cookie program advisor and has worked closely with all our troop leaders in 643, as well as the council’s entrepreneurial program staff, to lower the barrier to entry to the cookie program for all interested youth in 643. Drea has answered so many girls’ and adults’ questions about the cookie program over the years, and everyone knows that we can count on her to answer, or find the answer to, all of our vexing cookie program questions. She has also been a cookie point-person for troops when they had specific questions about ebudde or ABC Smart Cookie and has served as a cookie program subject matter expert as needed.

Perhaps most relevant to the Outdoor Trailblazer Award though, for the past four years, Drea has also served our 643 community as an Older Girl (OG) Camporee adult co-leader, responsible for interviewing, selecting, training, mentoring, and assisting OGs as they organize, plan, and execute a weekend-long Camporee for 150-250 Girl Scouts. As an OG Camporee adult, Drea has worked hard to equip and empower our OGs to really “own” their leadership experience related to putting together a large-scale weekend-long Camporee event, and her guidance has helped lead to our SU selling out all of our available Camporee slots for the past three years. She is a thoughtful, kind, and considerate Girl Scout adult volunteer, and her leadership reflects her values.

The first year our SU hosted an OG-led Camporee, we had just four-five OGs leading the event. The following year, we had a few more, maybe 10-12 total. Last year, we swelled to nearly 20 OGs who applied for and led the Camporee planning process, and this year, we are back to 11-12 OGs. Our SU has deliberately chosen to keep in place the OG-led Camporee model because it’s a strategic way for us to retain Older Girls in Girl Scouts throughout their middle school and high school years. Drea plays a huge role in this process because through her leadership, she mentors the OGs throughout their Camporee event planning process so that they, in turn, can mentor and empower the Girl Scout campers during the event weekend. For many of our Camporee Girl Scout attendees, Camporee is one of, if not the only, time they camp with their troop (/family), and Drea has helped stress this to our Camporee OGs, insisting that everything we do and offer at Camporee is accessible to all and that by attending Camporee, campers will want to stick around and become Camporee OGs, themselves, when they are older. This is such a huge part of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, and Drea helps ensure that this happens year after year.

Drea's camp name is Cricut, in part because she is a queen with her Cricut. Part of becoming an OG is that you 'earn' your camp sweater, and each year, Drea creates Camporee hoodies (and sometimes t-shirts) for Camporee OGs. If you have been an OG before, she updates the sleeve to reflect all the Camporees the OG has hosted. This, too, is a strategic and creative way that Drea has helped our service unit retain as many older Girl Scouts as possible year after year -- because the girls want to become OGs and get the enviable hoodie!

One last thing – in addition to all the aforementioned leadership roles within 643 and our OG-led Camporee, most recently Drea has taken on a Daisy troop for 25-26 as a co-leader, alongside her daughter (a rising 10th grader) and Ruth Corsaro, another incredible SU643 volunteer and her rising 11th grader. Drea’s youngest daughter, a rising kindergarten, has literally grown up around Girl Scouts and has been begging to be part of it her whole life. We think it’s incredible that Drea is going to afford her youngest daughter all the same, amazing experiences she afforded her elder daughter. Once Drea’s and Ruth’s high school-aged daughters graduate out of Girl Scouts – when the Daisy troop bridges to Brownies – Drea’s and Ruth’s daughters will take over the reins and lead the Brownies for subsequent years. We love this full-circle, mother-daughter “co-op” leadership experience.

Drea’s selfless generosity to Girl Scouts is remarkable, and we in service unit 643 are so lucky for her leadership and giving spirit. 

Written by Erin Garvey in June 2025.

Council and National Awards

• Appreciation Pin (2018): For outstanding service to at least one community. 

• Chris Arkley Significant Impact Award (2021): For continued outstanding service for 3 years after receiving the Appreciation Pin.  

• President’s Award (2022): Recognizes a service unit team or group who surpasses team goals to result in a significant, measurable impact toward reaching the council’s overall goals. 

• Phyllis Jones Amistad Award (2023): For commitment to diversity and inclusion through significantly increasing the number of diverse Girl Scouts in a troop, service unit, outreach program, or camp over a period of time.

• Outdoor Trailblazer Award (2025): For providing outdoor experiences for girls. 

• Ruth Robertson Commitment to Excellence Award (2026): For demonstrating long-term commitment to the Girl Scout organization through at least ten years of service, after receiving the Appreciation Pin and Chris Arkley Significant Impact Award.

Ruth Robertson Commitment to Excellence Award Nomination (2026)

To the Awards Review Committee,

It is an honor to nominate Erin Garvey for the Ruth Robertson Commitment to Excellence Award. Described by her peers as the "rock," "base support," and the literal "heart" of Service Unit 643, Erin has dedicated over a decade of continuous, transformative service to the Girl Scout movement. Her tireless work spans multiple troop leaderships, vital financial governance, and the creation of highly successful outdoor leadership pipelines that have impacted thousands of youth across nearly thirty distinct troops.

1. A Decade of Deep Impact at the Troop Level

Erin’s foundational commitment to Girl Scouting is demonstrated by her parallel, long-term leadership of two separate troops. For the past ten years, she has guided Troop 61049 from their early days as Daisies through their transition into passionate Seniors. Concurrently, she has led Troop 60214 for seven years, nurturing them from Daisies into thriving Cadettes. Through her intentional, multi-year mentorship, Erin has shaped the character of countless youth, ensuring they experience a robust, supportive, and continuous Girl Scout Leadership Experience. Many girls in Erin’s troops have gone on to become Bronze Award and Silver Award Girl Scouts, as well as high sellers year after year in both the fall product and cookie entrepreneur programs. She encourages them to try new things and do their very best in all of their pursuits.

2. The Organizational Rock of Service Unit 643

Erin is arguably the hardest working volunteer on the SU 643 team, governing the intricate, day-to-day coordination required to keep a service unit running smoothly.

• Leader Support & Governance: For seven years, she has served as the Leader Support Manager and now Service Unit Advisor. She leads quarterly meetings, schedules events, and provides the emotional and structural framework that local adult volunteers rely on. More than 30 troops in northeast San Jose and Milpitas have directly benefited from her vision.

• Financial & Technical Innovation: Serving as the SU 643 Treasurer for nearly five years, Erin single-handedly brought the service unit into the modern digital space by introducing CheddarUp pre-pandemic. As the SU’s absolute platform guru, she takes on the immense, unseen tedium of managing complex, multi-tiered registrations for all major events, protecting council compliance while making participation accessible for families.

3. Champion of Older Girl Retention & Outdoor Leadership

Erin’s most public-facing legacy is her brilliant execution of the Older Girl (OG)-led Camporee over the past five years. Recognizing that middle and high school girls drop out of scouting at higher rates, Erin utilized outdoor leadership as a premier retention strategy:

• Empowering Youth Leaders: As Co-Director, Erin interviews, selects, trains, and mentors older youth to plan and execute a weekend-long campout for 150 to 250 Girl Scouts. Under her watch, the leadership cohort grew from 4 youth to a peak of nearly 20, teaching them the logistics of large-scale event management.

• Creating Sustainable Pipelines: Erin collaborated to launch a two-year Volunteer in Training (VIT) role for the most experienced older youth. This brilliant framework gives younger campers an aspirational goal: they return year after year because they want to stick around and become Camporee OGs themselves.

• Inclusivity & "Invisible" Labor: Erin works relentlessly to ensure camp is accessible to everyone, helping troops register through creative pricing tiers. Her dedication is also deeply physical—whether she is running training sessions or literally schlepping mountains of gear in her own van, she does what it takes to make camp happen. Under her guidance, the Camporee has completely sold out all slots for the past three consecutive years.

4. Volunteer-Run Camp Support

Erin has also become part of the volunteer-run camp staff at Kamp Konocti at Camp Tamarancho in Fairfax. For three years, she assisted at Kamp Konocti as an assistant unit leader, and in 2025, she transitioned to program and kitchen staff, co-leading the BB unit for 6th and 7th graders. This year, she and her partner will be co-leading the Trailblazers high adventure unit for 6th and 7th graders, affording her campers opportunities to shoot BB and archery, throw axes, sling slingshots, and have countless adventures in nature for a week, in addition to serving as Konocti’s kamp treasurer. Later this summer, she will also be assisting at Camp Butano Creek, another volunteer-run camp, for a week, specifically with their 4th and 5th grade Junior unit. 

5. Discoveree workshop leader

Finally, Erin and the other Older Girl (OG) Camporee adult co-leaders recently facilitated a training session at Discoveree for other volunteers. Erin and the other OG adults are passionate about service units adopting an OG-leadership model for Camporee and enthusiastically shared their best practices with other GSNorCal volunteers in January. Erin and the other adults do not believe in “siloing information” and instead want to share the wealth with other volunteers so that their service units can employ this leadership opportunity for other Older Girl Scouts. 

Conclusion & Previous Recognitions

Erin’s long-term excellence has been steadily validated by a remarkable sequence of council honors: Appreciation Pin, Chris Arkley Significant Impact Award, President's Award, Phyllis Jones Amistad Award, and Outdoor Trailblazer Award.

Erin Garvey never seeks the spotlight, yet her invisible labor, financial stewardship, and fierce advocacy for girl-led outdoor spaces are the reasons why SU 643 thrives. She is the ultimate model of what the Ruth Robertson Commitment to Excellence Award represents.

Nominated by Maggie Nguyen in June 2026.

Outdoor Trailblazer Award Nomination (2025)

Current position(s) (including number of years in each position if possible):

• Troop leader 61049: 10 years; 

• Troop leader 60214: 5 years; 

• Service unit 643 leader support manager or advisor: 6 years; 

• Older Girl (OG) Camporee planning committee adult leader/co-director: 4 years; 

• Kamp Konocti volunteer-run camp staff: 4 years; 

• SU 643 treasurer: 4-5 years

Area(s) of impact:

Erin makes a positive impact wherever has the good fortune of her assistance and collaboration, and this is especially so within service unit 643 (northeast San Jose and Milpitas), where we both serve together.  

How she/he delivered outstanding service that made an impact: 

Erin has committed many years of service to service unit 643 and especially within the realm of facilitating our Older Girl-led Camporee for the past four years. She makes a big difference in several different ways in SU643, and I will try to briefly describe all of them below. 

Erin is the hardest working volunteer in our Service Unit team. She is our rock, our base support, governing the interworking and volunteering of our service unit team. We would say she is the heart of our service unit, leading monthly meetings, scheduling events, reminding us of upcoming activities and events, and providing support when needed. She was our Leader Support Manager and now Service Unit Advisor. Not only is she a role model to our adult leaders and volunteers, she has made so many impacts on the lives of our girl scouts. She has been a troop leader for two separate troops: Troops 60214 (starting as a daisy troop; now a junior troop, a 5 year span) and 61049 (starting as a daisy troop now a cadette troop, a ten year span). Countless times she organized event and activity learning for all girls in the service units, not just her own troops.  More or less twenty eight troops in our service unit have benefited from her vision,  passion and passion in the Girl Scouting Movements in the last ten years of her service.

Perhaps most relevant to the Outdoor Trailblazer Award though, for the past four years, Erin has also served our 643 community as an Older Girl (OG) Camporee adult co-leader, responsible for interviewing, selecting, training, mentoring, and assisting OGs as they organize, plan, and execute a weekend-long Camporee for 150-250 Girl Scouts. As an OG Camporee adult, Erin has worked hard to equip and empower our OGs to really “own” their leadership experience related to putting together a large-scale weekend-long Camporee event, and her guidance has helped lead to our SU selling out all of our available Camporee slots for the past three years. She is a thoughtful, kind, and considerate Girl Scout adult volunteer, and her leadership reflects her values. 

The first year our SU hosted an OG-led Camporee, we had just four-five OGs leading the event. The following year, we had a few more, maybe 10-12 total. Last year, we swelled to nearly 20 OGs who applied for and led the Camporee planning process, and this year, we are back to 11-12 OGs. Our SU has deliberately chosen to keep in place the OG-led Camporee model because it’s a strategic way for us to retain Older Girls in Girl Scouts throughout their middle school and high school years. Erin plays a huge role in this process because through her leadership, she mentors the OGs throughout their Camporee event planning process so that they, in turn, can mentor and empower the Girl Scout campers during the event weekend. For many of our Camporee Girl Scout attendees, Camporee is one of, if not the only, time they camp with their troop (/family), and Erin has helped stress this to our Camporee OGs, insisting that everything we do and offer at Camporee is accessible to all and that by attending Camporee, campers will want to stick around and become Camporee OGs, themselves, when they are older. This is such a huge part of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, and Erin helps ensure that this happens year after year. 

Many years ago, pre-pandemic, Erin connected our service unit to CheddarUp so our SU could collect online payments in a way that was secure and council-approved. As such, she is the SU's CheddarUp guru and is responsible for managing all the tedium of CU registrations for all the SU-sponsored events, including Camporee. Being in charge of registration and effectively communicating many, many details isn't really a “fun” job, but it's important for the success of the event. This is especially true for Camporee because it is one of the only events the SU offers where participants/troops can register for the event in multiple ways: Early bird weekend-long or Saturday-only camper versus Standard registration weekend-long or Saturday-only camper. It is easy to drown in the tedium and details, and each year, for each SU event, Erin figures out a way to make it all work.

Erin and the other Camporee adults (Ruth Corsaro, Jess Pallach, Drea Key) all contribute many, many layers of support to our older girl-led Camporee, much of it invisible and behind-the-scenes, such as schlepping all the supplies for the weekend in her van before camp begins or working with the other adults to launch a two-year Volunteer in Training (VIT) role for our most experienced and elder OGs. By working so closely with the OGs, Erin and the other OG adults help to mentor and empower the older girl scouts and assist them in getting as much as possible out of their leadership experience. Her contributions have helped our SU retain as many older girls as we have, in no small part because they want to stick around and become Camporee OGs, once they are old enough/qualified. 

Written by Erin Garvey and Maggie Nguyen in June 2025.

Council and National Awards

• Appreciation Pin (2016): For outstanding service to at least one community. 

• Honor Pin (2018): For outstanding service to two or more communities. 

• President’s Award (2012, 2022): Recognizes a service unit team or group who surpasses team goals to result in a significant, measurable impact toward reaching the council’s overall goals. 

• Ruth Robertson Commitment to Excellence Award (2025): For demonstrating long-term commitment to the Girl Scout organization through at least ten years of service. 

Ruth Robertson Commitment to Excellence Award Nomination (2025)

Current position(s) (including number of years in each position if possible):

Service unit 643 volunteer: 10+ years; service unit 643 registrar: 2-3 years; service unit 643 cultural liaison: 2-3 years; service unit 643 secretary: 2-3 years; service unit 643 new leader mentor: 2 years; service unit delegate: 2-3 years; Discoveree planning committee member: 3 years; Vietnamese Scouting Association helper/leader: 5+ years 

Area(s) of impact:

Ha makes a positive impact wherever has the good fortune of her assistance and collaboration, and this is especially so within service unit 643 (northeast San Jose and Milpitas). 

How she/he delivered outstanding service that made an impact: 

Ha is a longtime Girl Scout volunteer within service unit 643 whose years of service predate virtually everyone on the current leadership team and nearly all current Girl Scout leaders in the service unit. Ha bleeds Girl Scout green, and her longtime commitment to Girl Scouts and to 643. Ha’s lifestyle reflects the values, inspiration, and living commitments of Girl Scouting.

Ha has held so many leadership roles at both the troop level and at the service unit level over the years, yet I will try the impossible task of describing and enumerating each one. For many years, she served as our service unit’s cultural liaison to help bridge and connect the multiple Vietnamese Girl Scout troops in the service unit with the other “American” troops. In this role, Ha shared information about the service unit goings-on, such as Camporee, recruitment events, journey-in-a-day programming, the Thanksgiving Service Project, and more, so that the Vietnamese troops would be able to participate. Historically, there was a bit of a rift between these two Girl Scout groups in the service unit, and Ha was helpful in trying to remedy the gap in recent history.

Additionally, Ha has helped the service unit leadership team in other ways as well, including being an event registrar (pre-2020) and being our service unit secretary. Ha always wants to be helpful and contribute meaningfully to Girl Scouts and to service unit 643, and we appreciate that we can count on her to help fill a need for us, wherever it may exist.

Moreover, even though Ha doesn’t have children of her own in Girl Scouts, she remains committed to the mission and values of the organization and has committed herself to continuous learning. Practically any time there is a council-sponsored training event, she is eager to participate, demonstrated by her attending the service unit leadership teams’ summit each August for the past three-four years.

Additionally, Ha is eager to assist and provide leadership in other ways as well, wherever there is a need, demonstrated by her multiple-year commitment to the volunteer-run and volunteer-organized Discoveree training event each January. For several years, she was also one of the service unit’s delegates to council, committed to providing representation on behalf of our active SU to the council as a whole.

Most recently, Ha has become our service unit new leader mentor and has offered to help onboard new troop leaders to the service unit so they can “hit the ground running” and jump right into service unit-organized programs, entrepreneurial opportunities, and calls for community service. She is committed to the Girl Scout troops’ success in service unit 643, and we appreciate her so much.

Finally, Ha has become a fixture within the Vietnamese Scouting Association within service unit 643. 643 is unique in that historically, many of our Girl Scout troops are Vietnamese troops that operate both in the “American” realm of Girl Scouts – participating in council-run opportunities like fall product and cookies, badge programs, service options, and the like – and in the Vietnamese Scouting world as well – conducting meetings in Vietnamese and teaching their scouts (both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, since many troops have companion troops in GS/BS) about Vietnamese language and culture, for example. In the Vietnamese Scouting world in SU643, Ha often bridges the BS/GS bridge and serves in various leadership capacities accordingly across multiple troops, including, most recently, Troop 60703.

Ha is a revered elder within both the American and Vietnamese Girl Scouting realms in 643, and we are so fortunate she has continued her commitment to Girl Scouting for more than a decade. 

Written by Erin Garvey in June 2025.

Council and National Awards

• Outdoor Trailblazer Award (2024): For providing outdoor experiences for girls.

• Appreciation Pin (2025): For outstanding service to at least one community. 

• Honor Pin (2026): For outstanding service to two or more communities. 

Honor Pin (2026)

It is my sincere pleasure to nominate Jess for the Honor Pin. Jess has given many years of outstanding service to Girl Scouts of Northern California, with significant and sustained impact across Service Unit 643, her troop, the Older Girl (OG) Camporee Committee, Kamp Konocti, Camp Butano Creek, and the broader volunteer community. Her leadership, dependability, and generous spirit have strengthened Girl Scouting for girls and adults at every level she serves.

Jess began her Girl Scout volunteer journey as a troop leader when her daughter was a kindergarten Daisy. Today, her troop is made up of 12th grade Ambassadors, and Jess has guided those girls through more than a decade of growth, leadership, friendship, and adventure. Over the years, she has supported them in earning badges and patches, completing their Bronze Award as Juniors, and earning their Silver Award as Cadettes. More importantly, she has consistently empowered her girls to shape their own troop experience. Jess listens to their ideas, supports their goals, and encourages them to take ownership of their Girl Scout journey. Because of her leadership, her girls have grown into confident, capable young women who understand what it means to lead.

Jess’s impact extends far beyond her own troop. She has been an invaluable member of the Service Unit 643 leadership team and is the kind of volunteer every service unit hopes to have: someone who shows up ready to help, sees what needs to be done, and jumps in without hesitation. Officially, Jess serves as our outdoor adventure mentor, helping encourage and support outdoor opportunities for girls. In reality, she is a true “Jill of All Trades” whose contributions touch nearly every part of our service unit. She is willing to jump in at a moment’s notice and contribute with her whole heart and generous spirit. 

Since 2021, Jess has served as one of the adult mentors for our Older Girl-led Camporee. In this role, she helps guide Cadette, Senior, and Ambassador Girl Scouts through the process of planning and executing a large-scale weekend camporee for approximately 150 to 250 Girl Scouts, ranging from kindergarten Daisies through high school Ambassadors. Jess helps our Older Girls build real leadership skills by mentoring them through logistics, planning, communication, problem-solving, and decision-making. She supports them without taking over, giving them the confidence and structure they need to lead successfully.

More recently, Jess has played an instrumental role in bringing the Volunteer-in-Training pathway to life for some of our most experienced Older Girl Camporee leaders. She has helped guide these girls through a rigorous two-year process that prepares them to earn their VIT award before bridging to Girl Scout adults at the end of high school. This work is especially meaningful because it supports older girl retention, develops future adult volunteers, and creates a bridge between girl leadership and adult service.

Jess has also shared this successful model beyond our own service unit. In January 2025, she volunteered as a Discoveree workshop leader, teaching other volunteers how to bring an Older Girl-led Camporee to their own service units. By sharing the structure, lessons learned, and best practices from Service Unit 643’s Camporee model, Jess helped equip other adult volunteers to create meaningful leadership opportunities for Older Girls and memorable outdoor experiences for younger Girl Scouts. Her willingness to teach and mentor other volunteers is a clear example of her broader impact within Girl Scouts of Northern California.

Jess has also served Service Unit 643 through years of behind-the-scenes support that makes our programs stronger and more accessible. For more than five years, she has helped with the cookie program by organizing Girl Scout cookie incentives and distributing them to troop leaders each spring. She regularly supports service unit events by arriving early, staying late, helping with set-up and tear-down, organizing service unit resources at Rainbow’s End so they are easier for troop leaders to access, assisting with recruitment events, supporting Journey-in-a-Day programming, helping plan logistics for a Thanksgiving service project for vulnerable families in our community, and contributing significantly to our annual adult and youth recognition event. Jess is reliable, humble, and willing to do the work that allows meaningful Girl Scout experiences to happen.

In addition to her troop and service unit leadership, Jess has made a tremendous impact through Girl Scout residential camp communities. For the past six years, she has served as an (Assistant) Director for the CIT program at Kamp Konocti. In this role, she works closely with high school Girl Scouts for nearly a full year leading up to Kamp each July, helping prepare them to organize activities, lead younger kampers, and serve as confident and capable kamp counselors. Her work with CITs helps girls grow as leaders, role models, and mentors. Jess’s enthusiasm for Kamp Konocti is contagious, and because of her encouragement, many Girl Scout youth and adult members from our service unit have become part of the Kamp Konocti community, myself and 11 of my Girl Scouts included!!

In the past year, Jess has expanded her service even further by volunteering as camp staff for Camp Butano Creek, another volunteer-run residential camp. Last summer, she served as program staff for the Juniors’ unit, creating meaningful camp experiences for Girl Scout Juniors, and she will return to serve in that same role again this summer. Her willingness to contribute to multiple volunteer-run camp communities shows the depth of her commitment to outdoor Girl Scouting and to providing girls with safe, joyful, skill-building experiences away from home.

Jess’s service reflects the heart of the Honor Pin. Her contributions are not limited to one troop, one event, or one role. She has made a significant impact across multiple areas of Girl Scouting by supporting girls as troop members, campers, camporee leaders, CITs, VITs, cookie entrepreneurs, and future adult volunteers. She also supports adult volunteers through training, logistics, encouragement, and practical service. Her work strengthens the Girl Scout Leadership Experience and helps ensure that girls have opportunities to lead, serve, explore, and grow.

Jess truly bleeds Girl Scout green. She is dependable, generous, enthusiastic, and deeply committed to the mission of Girl Scouting. Service Unit 643, Kamp Konocti, Camp Butano Creek, and Girl Scouts of Northern California are stronger because of her leadership and service.

For these reasons, I wholeheartedly nominate Jess for the Honor Pin. She is exceptionally deserving of this recognition, and we are deeply grateful for her unwavering commitment to Girl Scouts. I am so honored to write this nomination on her behalf because she would never proudly boast of all the ways she contributes to this organization, but believe me: she does. And we are better for it. 

Nominated by Erin Garvey in June 2026.

Appreciation Pin Nomination (2025)

Current position(s) (including number of years in each position if possible): 

Troop leader-12 years; outdoor adventure mentor - 5 years; cookie program prize support - 5 years; service unit helper (general) - 5 years; Kamp Konocti assistance CIT (counselor in training) director - 6 years 

Area(s) of impact:

Jessica makes a positive impact wherever has the good fortune of her assistance and collaboration, and this is especially so within service unit 643 (northeast San Jose and Milpitas) and within the Kamp Konocti (a volunteer-run resident camp in Marin County) communities. 

How she/he delivered outstanding service that made an impact: 

Jess has committed many years of service to Girl Scouts of Northern California, specifically within service unit 643 and the Kamp Konocti communities.

She has been a troop leader since her daughter was a kindergarten Daisy – her troop is currently 11th grade Ambassadors – and in that role, she has provided numerous opportunities for growth, learning, and memory-making for her girls, ranging from helping them earn various badges and patches, their Bronze Award as Juniors, and the Silver Award as Cadettes. She supports her girls’ vision for their Girl Scout troop and empowers them to make their choices and really “own” their troop experience.

In addition to her work as a troop leader, Jess has been an incredibly helpful volunteer on our service unit leadership team. Jess is the volunteer we all dream of having because she shows up, willing and ready to work, and isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty or jump right in to satisfy a need. Officially, she is 643’s “outdoor adventure mentor” to help get girls outside as much as possible, and in reality, she is a Jill of All Trades. Since 2021, Jess has served as one of the Camporee Older Girl (OG) adults and has been responsible for leading our OGs (Cadettes and higher) through the planning and executing process to put together a ~150-250 person Camporee for our entire service unit, ranging from Daisies (kindergartners) to Ambassadors (12th graders). More recently, she has played an instrumental role in bringing to reality the Volunteer in Training (VIT) role for some of our most experienced OG Camporee leaders, leading these OGs through a rigorous, two-year process to eventually earn their VIT prior to bridging to a Girl Scout adult at the end of high school. Besides leading our OGs on the Camporee committee, for more than five years, Jess has also graciously helped with our cookie program and has been the person responsible for organizing the Girl Scouts cookie incentives and disseminating them out to troop leaders each spring. She is always willing to help out wherever and however she can for service unit functions, such as showing up early or staying late at SU events to help with set-up and/or tear-down, organizing SU resources at Rainbow’s End so they are all more accessible to troop leaders, helping plan the logistics for a Thanksgiving service project for vulnerable families in our SU, assisting at recruitment events and journey-in-a-day events, and playing a significant role in our annual adult and youth recognition event each spring.

Finally, Jess also is an invaluable part of the Kamp Konocti admin team and community. For the past six years, she has been an Assistant Director for the CIT (counselor in training) program, working closely with high schoolers for nearly a year leading up to Kamp each July to help prepare them for organizing Kamp activities and working as kamp counselors to elementary through high school-aged youth. Her enthusiasm for kamp is contagious, and it’s because of her that so many Girl Scout youth and adult members from our service unit have joined the Kamp Konocti community and family each summer.

Jess bleeds Girl Scout green, and her service is commendable. We are so appreciative of all that she does, and we thank her for her unwavering service and commitment. 

Written by Erin Garvey in June 2025.

Council and National Awards

• Appreciation Pin (2022): For outstanding service to at least one community. 

• President's Award (2022, 2024): Recognizes a service unit team or group who surpasses team goals to result in a significant, measurable impact toward reaching the council’s overall goals.

• Chris Arkley Significant Impact Award (2025): For continued outstanding service for 3 years, after receiving the Appreciation Pin.

• Ruth Robertson Commitment to Excellence Award (2026): For demonstrating long-term commitment to the Girl Scout organization through at least ten years of service, after receiving the Appreciation Pin and Chris Arkley Significant Impact Award.

Ruth Robertson Commitment to Excellence Award Nomination (2026)

To the Awards Review Committee,

It is a true privilege to nominate Maggie Nguyen for the Ruth Robertson Commitment to Excellence Award. Maggie embodies the very heart of the Girl Scout mission. Over the past eleven years, she has demonstrated a fierce, selfless commitment to the movement, seamlessly bridging the gap between local troop leadership, service unit administration, council-wide advancement, and cross-cultural scouting communities.

1. A Decade-Long Foundation of Troop Leadership

Maggie began her journey as a volunteer in 2015 and a troop leader in 2016. Over more than a decade, she has guided multi-level youth from elementary school through high school graduation in Vietnamese Troop 60964 (Liên Đoàn Trường Giang). Her dedication didn't stop when her own daughter graduated in 2025; Maggie expanded her impact to mentor Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors (CSA), while simultaneously stepping up to support the younger Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors of Troop 61679 (Liên Đoàn Diên Hồng). As a dedicated mentor, she has successfully advised numerous Girl Scouts through their Silver Awards, always prioritizing a "girl-led" environment where youth learn by doing.

2. Transforming Service Unit 643

At the service unit level, Maggie has spent the last six years pouring her heart into multiple critical roles for SU 643. Her contributions have left an enviable blueprint of excellence:

• Communications & Digital Prowess: As Webmaster and PR Coordinator, Maggie completely modernized and continually maintains the SU 643 website (su643.org) and newsletter, turning them into vital community hubs.

• Recognitions & Slide Decks: As the Recognitions Coordinator, Maggie produces professional-grade annual slideshows celebrating youth and adult volunteers.

• Retention & the PVSA: Driven by the goal of retaining older youth, Maggie played a pivotal role in bringing the President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) to SU 643. Through her efforts, over 50 members have been recognized, heavily boosting older girl retention.

3. Council-Wide & National Impact

Maggie’s dedication scales beyond her immediate community into the Girl Scouts of Northern California (GSNorCal) council. She serves as a South Bay Gold Award Coordinator and committee member, selflessly working to demystify the highest award process for older youth and their families. Her leadership was formally recognized by the council when she was selected as a Service Unit 643 Delegate in 2023 and 2025 and National Council Alternate for the 2025–2028 triennium, ensuring our local voices are represented at the council and national levels.

4. "Scouting Without Borders" & Sisterhood

What makes Maggie truly unique is her ability to build a "scouting without borders." She serves as the Secretary for the Vietnamese Scouting Community (VSC) and the Vice Chair of Public Relations for Liên Đoàn Trường Giang. In 2026, she brought her deeply ingrained Girl Scout values to the Scouting America Wood Badge Staff (Tùng Nguyên XI) as Assistant Scribe. She uses her cross-cultural experiences to empower girls, teaching them to learn from the rich diversity of a global community.

Conclusion & Previous Recognitions

Maggie’s ten-plus years of sustained excellence are backed by a consistent history of prestigious awards: Appreciation Pin, President's Award, and Chris Arkley Significant Impact Award.

Maggie Nguyen is a lifetime member who never complains about the endless hours she gives. She is a humble, hardworking leader who constantly seeks continuing education to better serve her girls. For her profound, decade-long commitment to the Girl Scout movement, she is highly deserving of the Ruth Robertson Commitment to Excellence Award.

Nominated by Erin Garvey in June 20256.

Scouting America Wood Badge Staff Bio (2026)

I serve as the Liên Đoàn Phó Ngoại Vụ and Webmaster for Liên Đoàn Trường Giang (#689) in the Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council, as well as a Girl Scout Leader for Troop #60964, where I mentor Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors. I also have the pleasure of supporting the younger Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors of Liên Đoàn Diên Hồng (#61679). As your Assistant Scribe for Tùng Nguyên XI, I bring a background of service that spans the Vietnamese Scouting Committee (VSC) and Girl Scouts of Northern California. When I’m not in uniform, I’m likely geocaching, playing Pokémon Go, or working on arts and crafts.

Wood Badge is the premier catalyst for leadership, while Scouting as a whole is the forge for my character. The Wood Badge mantra, 'Train them, Trust them, and Let them Lead,' resonates deeply with me; it perfectly mirrors the Girl Scout Leadership Experience of being girl-led and learning by doing. My Wood Badge tickets were driven by a vision of 'Scouting without borders,' empowering girls to learn from the rich diversity of our global community.

My advice to you: embrace this fellowship. Let these new connections flourish into a lifelong support system.

Written by Maggie Nguyen in April 2026.

National Council Alternate Biography (2025-2028)

I am a lifetime member of Girl Scouts. I have volunteered as a troop leader since 2015 and volunteered with the Service Unit 643 for the last three years. I'm passionate about Girl Scouting, and I believe in promoting it. I also volunteer as a South Bay Gold Award Coordinator for GSNorCal and in many other organizations such as the Vietnamese Scouting Committee (huongdaosanjose.org) and the Cross Team (thecrossteam.quest). I believe that my experiences with GSA and Vietnamese Scouting would give me a clear perspective to represent the local Girl Scouts and continue to support the movement at the national level. 

Written by Maggie Nguyen in 2025.

Chris Arkley Significant Impact Award Nomination (2025)

Current position(s) (including number of years in each position if possible): 

SU 643 volunteer: five-six years; troop 60964 volunteer: ~10 years; SU delegate: ~1-2 years; national delegate alternate: <1 year; Gold Award committee member: ~2 years; Vietnamese Scouting Community secretary: 2+ years; 643 recognitions coordinator, webmaster, PR, communications person: 4+ years 

Area(s) of impact:

Maggie makes a big impact wherever she serves, and this is especially true in service unit 643, the Vietnamese Scouting Community (VSC), and in her troop, 60964. She has also made sizable contributions to council through her work as a Gold Award committee member. 

How she/he delivered outstanding service that made an impact: 

Maggie Nguyen is one of the most selfless people weI know, and we have encountered very few people in my life who so fiercely believe in the spirit and mission of Girl Scouts as Maggie. Commensurate with her passion for Girl Scouts, Maggie has held and currently holds a litany of volunteer leadership responsibilities to help advance Girl Scouting in service unit 643 and in the greater NorCal council. I’ll try to briefly describe her work below. 

In service unit 643, Maggie has held several roles in the past five-six years we’ve worked together on the 643 leadership team. Maggie has poured her heart and soul into being the recognition coordinator and communications/PR organizer for 643, and this has been repeatedly evident in her beautiful su643.org website she updated from a troop’s high award several years ago. Additionally, through her work as the recognition coordinator, Maggie seamlessly coordinates and delivers a professional-grade slideshow each year for our Girl Scout youth and adult volunteer members, pulling from the nominators’ kind words for the awardees. The result is an enviable slides deck that other service units and council staff members use as the model of aspiration and excellence. Similarly, she has created a 643 newsletter that highlights 643 happenings each year, with an equally beautiful and enviable end result. 

Closely related to her work with recognitions and communications, Maggie played a key role in bringing the President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) to service unit 643. With our evergreen goal of retaining Girl Scout youth members, particularly as they go through middle and high school, as well as incentivizing adult members to stick around, bringing and advertising the PVSA became especially important to our SU. With Maggie’s help, as part of our yearly recognition event, in two years, over fifty Girl Scout youth and adult members have been recognized for earning PVSA honors. 

Still within our service unit level, Maggie recently undertook the additional responsibility of being a CSA Advisor, an advisor to the troop leaders of Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassador Girl Scouts (6th-12th graders), in the desire to get those girls to stay with Girl Scouts for as long as possible and to help those CSA adult leaders make that vision a reality. 

At a troop level, Maggie has been part of the multi-level Vietnamese troop 60964 for several years, since her daughter (who graduated from high school in 2025) was in elementary school. For many years, Maggie has also been the webmaster for her Lien Doan and has been responsible for creating her Lien Doan Truong Giang’s website. She has also successfully advised many Girl Scouts in troop 60964 through their Silver Awards as well. In addition, she has been the Vietnamese Scouting Community (VSC) secretary for several years. You can see examples of her digital prowess at these websites: 

http://liendoantruonggiang.org

https://www.facebook.com/LDTG689

https://su643.org

https://huongdaosanjose.org

Additionally, at a council-wide level, Maggie has most recently served as a service unit delegate and a national delegate alternate. She has also recently become a Gold Award Coordinator and wants to help as many Girl Scouts as possible earn their highest awards and demystify the process for them and their supportive adults. 

Maggie is one of the most humble and hardest-working leaders I know and is someone who will never complain about the hours and hours of her time and energies she selflessly gives to the Girl Scout organization. She always wants to learn more and do more – evidenced by how much time and energy she gives of herself to the continuing ed that Girl Scout trainings offers – and her passion and enthusiasm serves as a remarkable example for all of us. Her generosity and commitment is astounding, and we are so happy to have been afforded so many opportunities to serve alongside her. 

Written by Erin Garvey in June 2025.

Council and National Awards

• Appreciation Pin (2018): For outstanding service to at least one community.

• Ruth Robertson Commitment to Excellence Award (2025): For demonstrating long-term commitment to the Girl Scout organization through at least ten years of service. 

• Outdoor Trailblazer Award (2026): For providing outdoor experiences for girls. 

Outdoor Trailblazer Award (2026)

It is a true privilege to nominate Pauline Cao for the GSNorCal Council’s Outdoor Trailblazer Award. Pauline is a dedicated leader who genuinely "walks the walk" when it comes to the "Out" in Girl Scouting, bringing a lifelong passion for nature and the wilderness into everything she touches.

Pauline’s impact radiates far beyond the troop level, driving the council's outdoor mission forward in two critical ways:

• Elevating Adult Leadership: As an instructor for the Council’s outdoor training classes, Pauline consistently dedicates her time to mentoring fellow adult volunteers. By equipping them with essential outdoor skills, she ensures that our sisterhood is built on a foundation of confidence and competence. Because of her, dozens of leaders feel empowered to take their girls outside.

• Weaving a Safety Net of Preparedness: Beyond the campsite, her expertise as a certified First Aid and CPR instructor has been invaluable. She has woven a network of safety across our entire community, beautifully bridging the gap between a love for the wild and the practical, life-saving skills needed to explore it responsibly.

Why Pauline is an Outdoor Trailblazer:

She ensures that our Girl Scouts, and the leaders who guide them, are not just enthusiastic about the outdoors, but are deeply prepared, highly skilled, and ready for every adventure that lies ahead. She is a vital asset to GSNorCal and embodies the spirit of a true trailblazer.

Written by Maggie Nguyen in June 2026.

Ruth Robertson Commitment to Excellence Award Nomination (2025)

Current position(s) (including number of years in each position if possible): 

Pauline has been a troop leader in Troop 61679 for many years (more than a decade). Fall Product manager - 3 years. Outdoor trainer for council - 1 year (as of 2025)

Area(s) of impact:

• Pauline has been a troop leader of Girl Scout troop 61679 for over ten years. Her own daughter aged out of Girl Scouts several years ago, and Pauline has continued to serve her community.

• She also has recently become an outdoor trainer (council-wide) and the fall product manager for Service Unit 643 for the past three years.

• Pauline has also taken on the role of co-CSA Advisor (Cadette, Senior, Ambassador troop leaders’) advisor for 25-26 for SU 643. 

How she/he delivered outstanding service that made an impact: 

Pauline has served Girl Scouts troop 61679 for over a decade. Girl Scout Troop 61679, Nữ Đoàn Trưng Vương, is part of the multi-level Vietnamese scouting community in San Jose and is a subset of the Liên Đoàn Diên Hồng, part of the Dien Hong Youth Foundation in San Jose, whose mission is to promote the Scouts Movement in partnership with Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and Girl Scouts of America (GS) since 1981. (If you need more information about how the LD operates and how Girl Scouts troop 61679 fits into the LD, please refer to their website here: https://www.lddienhongsj.org/GS61679).

Pauline has been an instrumental part of the Girl Scouts 61679 multi-level troop community for over a decade and continues to be the overall troop leader of 61679, despite her own daughter graduating out of Girl Scouts several years ago. In fact, Pauline is probably among the most tenured Girl Scout troop leader in the entire service unit 643 family. She is a wealth of knowledge and a fountain of support and enthusiasm for the Girl Scouting movement, believing wholeheartedly in the Girl Scout mission and everything for which it stands.

Most recently, in addition to continuing to serve as a troop leader for 61679, Pauline has also taken up the leadership for 643’s fall product manager role. When we were in need of new leadership several years ago, she graciously took up the role and has been seamlessly serving in it ever since, encouraging as many troops as possible to participate in the often-overlooked fall product program each year and answering everyone’s questions as they arise throughout the season.

Pauline is also committed to continuing to serve the Girl Scouting movement, and she demonstrates this willingness to serve through her ongoing “continuing ed” within Girl Scouts. She has recently become an Outdoor Trainer, where she trains other adult volunteers council-wide in the necessary fundamentals of outdoor knowledge (so that they, in turn, can teach their Girl Scout youth members). Additionally, she has participated in the annual, council-run service unit leadership teams’ summit in August at Camp Bothin so she can network with other service unit leadership and grow her knowledge in all things Girl Scouts so that she can then relay all that information back to her troop 61679 and LD.

We are so lucky to have Pauline in our 643 leadership team because she is always willing to help out whenever and wherever. Even though her official title is as the fall product manager, Pauline is always willing to assist wherever we have a need. Most recently, she has also taken on the additional role of co-CSA Advisor (Cadette, Senior, Ambassador Girl Scout troop leaders’) Advisor for 25-26 so that she can be supportive of leaders who are experiencing middle and high school with their girls and helping those leaders figure out how to retain their youth members as long as possible.

Pauline’s longstanding commitment to Girl Scouts is commendable, and we in service unit 643 are so lucky that she has been a fixture in our community and in the Vietnamese Scouting community in particular for as long as she has. Her service and generosity know no bounds, and our communities are all the better because of her and her exemplary giving nature. 

Written by Erin Garvey in June 2025.

Council and National Awards

• Appreciation Pin (2020): For outstanding service to at least one community. 

• President's Award (2022): Recognizes a service unit team or group who surpasses team goals to result in a significant, measurable impact toward reaching the council’s overall goals.

• Chris Arkley Significant Impact Award (2025): For continued outstanding service for 3 years after receiving the Appreciation Pin.  

• Outdoor Trailblazer Award (2025): For providing outdoor experiences for girls.

Outdoor Trailblazer Award Nomination (2025)

Current position(s) (including number of years in each position if possible): 

Troop leader-12 years; service unit co-membership support manager-5+ years; service unit program support manager-5+ years; Older Girl (OG) Camporee planning committee adult leader/co-director: 4 years; Kamp Konocti volunteer-run camp staff: 3 years 

Area(s) of impact:

Ruth makes a positive impact wherever has the good fortune of her assistance and collaboration, and this is especially so within service unit 643 (northeast San Jose and Milpitas).

How she/he delivered outstanding service that made an impact: 

Ruth has committed many years of service to service unit 643. Since her daughter was a young Girl Scout, Ruth has been a troop leader of troop 60641; her daughter is now a rising 11th grader.Additionally, Ruth has held many leadership roles within the service unit 643 leadership team essentially ever since she became a troop leader. 

In our time together on the service unit 643 leadership team, Ruth has served as the (co) Membership Support Manager, working closely with our council staff person/community manager to help new troops form and get off the ground. In that role, Ruth was instrumental to new troop leaders, serving as a guide and mentor, answering all of their questions related to how Girl Scouts “works” and what Girl Scouts in 643 looks like.

Additionally, she has also served as the Program Support Manager and has been very helpful in putting together various service unit-wide events and/or supporting team members in their work to host service unit events (including serving as the event first aider and registrar, when needed).

During cookie season, Ruth has also been extremely helpful for our service unit as she has sought out, cultivated, and nurtured many relationships with area businesses over the years to help procure cookie booths for troops. She has also been a cookie point-person for troops when they had specific questions about ebudde or ABC Smart Cookie and has served as a cookie program subject matter expert as needed.

In case that’s not enough, for the past four years, Ruth has also served our 643 community as an Older Girl (OG) Camporee adult co-leader, responsible for interviewing, selecting, training, mentoring, and assisting OGs as they organize, plan, and execute a weekend-long Camporee for 150-250 Girl Scouts. As an OG Camporee adult, Ruth has worked hard to equip and empower our OGs to really “own” their leadership experience related to putting together a large-scale weekend-long Camporee event, and her guidance has helped lead to our SU selling out all of our available Camporee slots for the past three years. She is a thoughtful, kind, and considerate Girl Scout adult volunteer, and her leadership reflects her values.

Finally, each summer for the past two summers, Ruth has also volunteered at the week-long volunteer-run resident camp in Marin County, Kamp Konocti.

One last thing – in addition to all the aforementioned leadership roles within 643 and Kamp Konocti, most recently Ruth has taken on a Daisy troop for 25-26 as a co-leader, alongside her daughter (a rising 11th grader) and Drea Key, another incredible SU643 volunteer and her rising 10th grader. Once Ruth’s and Drea’s daughters graduate out of Girl Scouts – when the Daisy troop bridges to Brownies – Ruth’s and Drea’s daughters will take over the reins and lead the Brownies for subsequent years. We love this full-circle, mother-daughter “co-op” leadership experience.

Ruth’s selfless generosity to Girl Scouts is remarkable, and we in service unit 643 are so lucky for her leadership and giving spirit. She is a lifetime Girl Scout member – having grown up here in 643 herself, having Girl Scout meetings at Rainbow’s End and everything – and she clearly bleeds Girl Scout green! 

Written by Erin Garvey in June 2025.

Council and National Awards

• President's Award (2022): Recognizes a service unit team or group who surpasses team goals to result in a significant, measurable impact toward reaching the council’s overall goals.

• Appreciation Pin (2023): For outstanding service to at least one community. 

• Chris Arkley Significant Impact Award (2026): For continued outstanding service for 3 years after receiving the Appreciation Pin.  

Chris Arkley Significant Impact Award (2026)

Current position(s) (including number of years in each position if possible): 

She is a member at large on 643 Service Unit Team.

Area(s) of impact:

Thanh has consistently demonstrated outstanding leadership and devotion to Girl Scouts through her commitment to creating meaningful, girl-led experiences for all girls. Under her guidance, her troop has embraced the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, planning and participating in a wide variety of activities and adventures while earning their Bronze and Silver Awards. The girls in her troop have grown into confident leaders through the opportunities she has created for them.

Despite the demands of her career as a High School Vice-Principal, Thanh remains deeply committed to Girl Scouting. She is a member at large on 643 Service Unit team, bringing her creativity, enthusiasm, and wealth of experience to benefit girls across the Service Unit. She consistently develops innovative ideas and creates opportunities that enrich the Girl Scout experience for members of all ages. 

How she/he delivered outstanding service that made an impact: 

Since receiving her Appreciation Pin in 2023, Thanh has continued to be an invaluable asset to the Service Unit. For the past two years, she planned and hosted Thinking Day, providing an engaging and memorable outdoor experience for participants. She has also provided her support to council staff in recruitment efforts, welcoming prospective Girl Scouts and their families while promoting the values of Girl Scouting. 

She is a strong advocate for outdoor experiences and believes in the importance of connecting girls with nature. She inspires girls to build confidence, to develop new skills, and to achieve the highest awards. Thanh has made a lasting impact on countless girls and volunteers. Her willingness to serve, innovate, and create opportunities for others exemplifies the spirit and mission of Girl Scouts. 

Written by Loan Luu in June 2026.

Council and National Awards

• Appreciation Pin (2024): For outstanding service to at least one community. 

• Honor Pin (2026): For outstanding service to two or more communities. 

Honor Pin (2026)

It is my sincere pleasure to nominate Tina for the Honor Pin. Tina has given many years of thoughtful, values-driven, and deeply meaningful service to Girl Scouts of Northern California. Her impact reaches beyond her own troop and Service Unit 643 through her leadership as a troop leader, service unit volunteer, Council DEIB committee member, and National Council Delegate.

I have known Tina through Girl Scouts for more than five years. When the Milpitas service unit troops merged into Service Unit 643, Tina brought with her a thoughtful voice, caring leadership, and a deep commitment to ensuring that all girls and volunteers felt represented in our new, multi-school-district service unit. She stepped forward as a school liaison on the Service Unit 643 team so that Milpitas troops and families would continue to have representation, connection, and support.

Tina regularly attends service unit team meetings, where she contributes thoughtful ideas, listens carefully to the needs of others, and offers help whenever she can. She approaches service unit work with the belief that all girls’ voices matter and that Girl Scouting is strongest when every girl and every volunteer has a seat at the table. This commitment is evident in the way she speaks about planning, access, inclusion, and representation.

As a troop leader, Tina has served since 2018 and has consistently worked to bring meaningful learning, leadership, and service opportunities to the girls in her troop. As a lifetime Girl Scout and Cadette troop leader, she understands the long-term impact Girl Scouting can have on a girl’s confidence, sense of belonging, and ability to lead. She encourages her troop to participate in service unit and council events, support fellow Girl Scouts, and engage fully in the broader Girl Scout community.

Tina’s service is especially meaningful because it is rooted in access, equity, and belonging. As a member of Council’s Courage Cohort DEIB committee, she has contributed to the important work of helping Girl Scouts of Northern California reflect and serve the diverse needs of its members. Her perspective is shaped not only by her years as a Girl Scout volunteer, but also by her professional experience as a public librarian. Through both her volunteerism and her profession, Tina understands the importance of collaboration, purpose, representation, and sustainability.

Tina’s leadership now extends to the council and national level through her role as a National Council Delegate. In that role, she has committed herself to advocating for programs and policies that help keep Girl Scouts accessible to all who wish to join. She believes deeply that every Girl Scout deserves a transformative scouting experience, regardless of background, and that volunteers and girls should be heard in the decisions that shape the future of the Movement. Her service as a delegate reflects her passion for representing Girl Scouts of Northern California with purpose, thoughtfulness, and integrity.

Tina exemplifies the spirit of the Honor Pin because her impact extends across multiple levels of Girl Scouting. She supports girls directly as a troop leader, strengthens her service unit through consistent leadership and representation, contributes to council-level inclusion and belonging through DEIB work, and represents the voices of girls and volunteers at the national level. Her leadership is grounded in the Girl Scout Promise and Law, and she consistently models what it means to serve with compassion, courage, and purpose.

Tina is a thoughtful, committed, and deeply principled volunteer whose service has made Girl Scouts stronger for girls, families, and volunteers. She believes in the power of Girl Scouting to empower and inspire girls to become leaders in their communities and beyond, and she lives that belief through her ongoing service.

For these reasons, I wholeheartedly nominate Tina for the Honor Pin. She is deeply deserving of this recognition, and Girl Scouts of Northern California is stronger because of her leadership, advocacy, and service.

Nominated by Erin Garvey in June 2026.

National Council Delegate Biography (2025-2028)

As a Cadette troop leader and lifetime Girl Scout, I am honored to run for the position of National Delegate. Girl Scouting is not just a program to me—it's a calling to empower and inspire girls to become leaders in their communities and beyond. I’ve been a troop leader since 2018, a service unit volunteer, and a member of the Council DEIB committee. I obtained my Master of Library and Information Science degree in 2024. Through my service as a troop leader and work as a public librarian, I comprehend why collaboration, purpose, and vision are vital to sustainability. Service is at the heart of everything I do. If chosen, I will work tirelessly to ensure that Girl Scouts remains accessible to all who wish to join. I am committed to advocating for programs and policies that reflect our members' diverse needs, ensuring that every Girl Scout can have a transformative scouting experience, regardless of their background. As a delegate, I will ensure that all volunteers and Girl Scouts will be heard and have a seat at the table. Thank you for considering me for this opportunity to serve. I look forward to representing GS NorCal with passion and purpose. 

Written by Tina Fontenot-Martin in 2025.