Representing every county in Connecticut, the board consists of life-longGirl Scouts, prominent community leaders, nonprofit and corporate executives,two university presidents and many board veterans. The 27 members who comprisethe new board will draw from their extensive experience in Girl Scouting,banking, finance, communications, government, education, technology, marketingand strategic planning to lead the state's largest girl-focused organization.

Members also have deep Girl Scout connections. More than half of itsmembers have served on one or more Girl Scout council boards. Most of itsfemale members were Girl Scouts as children, and served on the Girl Scouts ofConnecticut's interim board or nominating/development committee.

Girl Scouts of Connecticut also elected two girl members to the board ofdirectors. Girl members will work directly with the board to enhance andexpand the Girl Scouting experience for themselves and their sister GirlScouts.

Teresa Younger, a lifelong Girl Scout and recipient of the Gold Award, theGirl Scout's highest honor, was elected to serve as President of the newboard. Younger currently serves as the Executive Director of the ConnecticutGeneral Assembly's Permanent Commission on the Status of Women, the state'sleading force for women's equality.

"I'm truly pleased at the diversity of the new board, not only in terms ofrace, but of geography, professional background and the different skills webring to the Girl Scouts. It's a group that I know will work very hard for allof Connecticut's girls and young women," said Teresa Younger.

Continuing the Girl Scouts' commitment to diversity, the board includesmembers from the African-American, Hispanic, Asian-American and Indian-American communities.

"We are delighted that so many of Connecticut's dedicated Girl Scouts andcommunity leaders have agreed to serve on our volunteer Board," said GirlScouts of Connecticut CEO Jennifer Smith Turner. "Their broad-rangingexpertise will help guide our ongoing expansion and enhancement of theprograms we bring to the girls of Connecticut -- our future leaders."

The Board of Directors is nominated by the Board Development Committee,consisting of both board and non-board members. The committee is responsiblefor presenting the slate of nominees to the voting members of the Corporation,training members of the Board of Directors, and filling vacancies on theboard.

The new board serves as the first official Board of Directors since thefive councils across Connecticut merged into one statewide council andreplaces the interim Board of Directors. Many members of the interim boardhave been re-elected to the new Board of Directors.

Ex-Officio: -- Jennifer Smith-Turner, CEO, Girl Scouts of Connecticut Officers: -- President - Teresa Younger, Executive Director, Connecticut General Assembly's Permanent Commission on the Status of Women -- 1st Vice President - Meg Sakellarides, CFO, Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Inc. -- 2nd Vice President - Vanessa Roberts, Business Litigation Attorney, McCarter & English -- 3rd Vice President - Adrienne Farrar Houel, President, Warrenton Network, Inc., Partner, Sable Group Inc., Executive Director, Fairfield County Housing Partnership -- Secretary - Rama Sudhakar, Vice President for Marketing and Communications, Fairfield University -- Treasurer - Naomi Kleinman, Vice President and Chief of Staff, The Phoenix Companies, Inc. Members-At-Large: -- Kyle Ballou, Administrative Director for Community and Government Relations, Yale-New Haven Hospital -- Sue Barrett, Director of Aetna Television, Aetna -- Sally Berry, Civic leader -- Gail Brathwaite, Executive Vice President and COO, NewAlliance Bank -- Katherine Conway, Senior Vice President and CFO of Personal Insurance, Travelers Insurance -- Aurora Daly, Principal, Daly Travel -- Marianne M. Downie, Assistant Vice President and Senior Counsel, The Hartford Insurance Company -- Walter Harrison, President, University of Hartford -- Anne Hayes, Director of Parking and Mass Transit, The Travelers Company, Inc. -- Diana Ingraham, Recording Secretary, Economic Development Commission, Village Advisory Board and Zoning Board of Appeals, Democratic Registrar of Voters for the Town of Voluntown -- Ed Lewis, Senior Managing Director, CIGNA Corporation -- Elsa Nunez, President, Eastern Connecticut State University -- Janet Peckinpaugh, retired news anchor, NBC, ABC, and CBS affiliates, principal, Peckinpaugh Media Group -- Patricia Russo, Vice President, Yale Campaign School for Women -- Mertie Terry, retired, Northeast Utilities -- Cindy Terzian, Owner, Marketing Matters -- Marsha Tolliver, retired, Hartford Hospital -- Leonard Vignola, Founding Partner and Managing Director, Beacon Partners Girl Members at Large: -- Stephanie Ko, student -- Saba Shahid, student About the Girl Scouts of Connecticut

Girl Scouts of Connecticut is the premier organization for girls in thestate, providing nearly 65,000 girls and adults with opportunities andexperiences that develop their potential and empower them with the self-confidence and leadership skills they need to improve themselves and the worldaround them. For more information, contact (800) 922-2770 or visithttp://www.gsofct.org.

SOURCE Girl Scouts of Connecticut