New Chair of the Board

We're delighted to announce the appointment of a new Chair of the Board for Girl Guides WA. Yvonne Power has a Guiding background, expertise in strategy, innovation, operational efficiency, corporate planning and reporting, as well as a strong interest in community service. Yvonne's long history with Girl Guides includes a great-grandmother who was District Commissioner for Girl Guides in the UK and a grandmother who was a Guide Leader. Yvonne has always had Girl Guides as part of her life and was herself a Leader in Willetton. "Becoming co-founder of my own company meant temporarily moving away from my role as Unit Leader for Willetton Girl Guides after three years of working with amazing young girls and inspiring them to become confident leaders," says Yvonne. "Now is the right time for me to return to GGWA and I feel like I have a lot to offer." Yvonne has a background in commercial, corporate and government agencies and has worked in project, operations and strategy roles. She has a particular passion for workplace and community engagement. She is the co-founder and Chief Operations Officer of an energy technology start-up. Up until recently her role had been FIFO, based between Perth and India. Yvonne also holds an MBA and a Masters in Cultural Studies. She has strong experience in working across divisions and business units to optimise processes, develop frameworks and deliver positive change. Yvonne believes in giving back and participates in endurance events for charities including MSWA and Ronald McDonald House, and has raised over $5000 for Harry Perkins Institute walking over 100km. She describes herself as a driven individual; she completed her MBA part-time whilst working full-time and looking after 3 young children and in 2020 was recognised as a winner of the WA Business News 40under40. "I owe a lot to the amazing female role models I had growing up and many of them came to me through guiding. Girl Guides is run by a passionate and dedicated group of people who believe in empowering millions of girls and young women in over 150 countries. I vividly remember the pride I felt when I joined Girl Guides and was told I now had over 10 million sisters all around the globe. That’s why I’m so honoured to be able to play a small part in this global movement as the new Chair of the Board for Girl Guides WA." "I have so many fond memories of the impact guiding has had on my life journey, from being a Brownie to a Unit Leader, and I want to continue to build this organisation so it can continue to have the same amazing impact on girls all over the world as it has had for me. I want to see GGWA grow and flourish and be recognised as the peak organisation supporting girls to become the leaders of tomorrow." The Organisation, Board and Management are very pleased to welcome Yvonne to the appointment.