Gold Award Girl Scouts are change-makers. They have changed the world, changed lives, and earned the most prestigious award in Girl Scouting.
To earn the Gold Award, a Girl Scout identifies an issue in her community, drafts a plan to address the root cause, and leads a team of volunteers to implement it. When the project is complete, the Gold Award Girl Scout and her team have made a sustainable impact on the world that continues to last beyond her involvement.
It’s a huge accomplishment that also impacts the Gold Award Girl Scout as a person. How she sees the world—and how the world sees her—is forever changed. It’s also a credential that will be with her for the rest of her life; having the Girl Scout Gold Award on a high school transcript or résumé can make a Girl Scout stand out when it comes to college admissions, scholarship applications, internships, and job interviews.
Girl Scout Mission
Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.
Girl Scout Promise
On my honor, I will try: To serve God and my country, To help people at all times, And to live by the Girl Scout Law.
Girl
Scout Law
I will do my best to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, courageous and strong, and responsible for what I say and do, and to respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout.
Girl Scouts Lifetime Membership
Congratulations, high school graduates!
As you embark on this exciting new phase of your life, we look forward to supporting you as a Girl Scout alum and having you remain a part of the Girl Scout family. We’re proud that the skills you’ve learned in Girl Scouts have prepared you to take on your next adventure.
As a lifetime member of Girl Scouts, you will remain connected with the Movement while continuing to be a champion for girls who are changing the world—today and for generations to come.
Become a Lifetime Member at mygs.girlscouts.org
Your lifetime membership also includes benefits, such as discounts and invitations to special events.
Scan the QR code to join as a lifetime member.
Letter from CEO
Dear Gold Award Girl Scouts,
Congratulations on earning the highest honor in Girl Scouting! Your courage, determination, and leadership have created lasting change in your communities and beyond. As we Embrace Possibilities together today, we celebrate YOU. The trailblazers who have turned passion into purpose and challenges into opportunities. You are role models and changemakers, and we are so proud of all you’ve achieved.
Thank you for inspiring us all.
Yours in Girl Scouting,
Nancy L. Wright Chief Executive Officer Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana
2025 Girl Scout Gold Awardees
Emma Adilman
Recipe Pantry
My Gold Award Project was to create easy to follow recipe pamphlets that support nutritional and creative cooking from food pantry items. These resources are shared in local food pantries and on an easily accessible website.
Chelsea Baker
Fast Fashion Flipping
My Gold Award Project focused on addressing the growing issue of fast fashion and its impact on our environment. Each year, more clothing items are produced and many of them end up in landfills due to improper disposal. Instead of buying new outfits, I taught others how to reuse and recycle items already in their closets.
Karishma Bhatara
Combating the Bystander
Effect
My Gold Award Project empowers community members with life-saving skills, ensuring they take action in medical emergencies rather than remaining bystanders. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, with over 350,000 cases of cardiac arrest each year. While emergency services typically arrive within 5-7 minutes, survival rates without immediate intervention are only 7-10%. By certifying community members in CPR and cardiac arrest response, my project helps turn bystanders into lifesavers, increasing survival rates from 10% to 40%.
Addison Black
Elementary Drama Club and Production of Anti Bullying
Play
My Gold Award Project began with starting a Drama Club at my old elementary school to bring my knowledge and love of performing arts to younger students. After writing lessons and teaching them theatre education concepts such as stage directions, auditioning, improvisation, memorization, stage presence and characterization, they auditioned for roles in an anti-bullying play I adapted from a children’s book called One by Kathryn Otoshi. I wrote the play, blocked the scenes, cast the roles, created the set, designed the playbill and poster, and coordinated the tech and space rental to share the anti-bullying message that it only takes one voice to stand up to bullies.
Kacie Brown
Monarch Butterfly Gardens
My Gold Award Project was to create two environmental habitats for the monarch butterfly. Monarch butterflies are going extinct in Illinois due to habitat loss and pesticides. As bees and butterflies decline, fewer flowers are pollinated and bloom. The gardens will help bring up the numbers and pollinate more flowers.
Alice Buchman
Ronald McDonald Pop-tab Collection House
My Gold Award Project was to partner with the Ronald McDonald House of Loyola Hospital to design and build a sustainable, weather-resistant donation house for largescale pop-tab collections. Modeled after the miniature collection boxes commonly seen in schools, this full-sized structure offers secure, easy-access openings to encourage community participation. The durable design ensures it can withstand all weather conditions, making it a reliable solution for year-round donations.
Katie Byers Safety Night Out
My Gold Award Project was a safety night out event to bring safety awareness to the community in an accessible manner.
Syndel De La Torre
Feral/Stray Cat Awareness
My Gold Award Project addressed the stray cat issue in my local neighborhood.
My goal was to educate and spread awareness to people on how to properly care for strays and what steps they can take to help them, such as making DIY cat shelters, feeding them and socializing the cats.
Janae Elms
ReadXPlay
My Gold Award Project addressed the issue of how the COVID-19 pandemic caused an increase in learning deficiency. Data has shown that children lost years worth of learning due to the pandemic, as they lost out on valuable instruction time. The NAEP even reports that scores in reading have declined in most states, especially in chronically unfunded schools. My project aimed to not only maintain the attention of children to their studies, but to show them how important it is to learn how to read better. By allowing children to have fun in learning, they can combine the two to create a perfect balance of how life can be: A fun, educational, experimental make-it-yourself game. Learning cannot be lost, it should not be, and I aim to help others find it.
Jasmine Elumbaugh
Dog Park Improvement
My Gold Award Project was a way to improve our local dog park. My team and I built a wooden shelter with wooden benches underneath. We also built metal benches in other parts of the park as well. I wanted to encourage elderly people and dog owners to get out more and connect with the community, families, and their pets.
Chloe Fournier
Rhythms of Passion
My Gold Award Project focused on promoting tap dance in my community, teaching my community about tap history and culture, as well as bringing together local tap groups to promote the participating dancers greatness.
2025 Girl Scout Gold Awardees
Annemarie Fuller
Gingerbread Library
My Gold Award Project tackles two critical global issues: children’s literacy and environmental sustainability. I created a Gingerbread House Little Free Library at a local elementary school to provide accessible books for young readers while repurposing resources that might otherwise contribute to landfill waste. This initiative not only instills a love of reading among children but also promotes eco-friendly practices, paving the way for a more literate and environmentally sustainable future.
Josie Gates
The Art of Motivation
My Gold Award Project reached over 20 residents at the Kenosha Women’s Horizons Shelter through my art and inspirational message displays. I know I met my goal by observational data by staff and therapists and antidotal comments provided by residents regarding mindset, motivation, and feelings of comfort.
Natalie Gill
Health and Safety Resources
My Gold Award Project provided social workers and nurses within my community with informational pamphlets about six various topics that children in my community are lacking the proper education in. These pamphlets are then used within their elementary and middle schools all around Valparaiso, Indiana, to educate the students on how they should be taking care of themselves in general, or
whenever an adult is not present. The six topics that were researched were first aid, online safety, social relationships, mental health, personal safety, and hygiene.
Morghan S. Guthrie
Public Speaking: Breadmasters
My Gold Award Project is to help children in grades 1-12 build their confidence in public speaking. I enjoy helping children overcome their fears of speaking to a public audience while watching them gain confidence in themselves while having fun in a Breadmasters meeting.
Zora Kersey
Feed Thy Neighbor
My Gold Award Project was to provide freezer meals for people with mobility issues. I made one breakfast meal and two dinner meals and would deliver them every other week. My customers got options to choose which meal they would prefer for that week.
Norah Kurdelak
An Altar Server Training Program
My Goal Award Project increased the current and future number of servers at St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church and increased the knowledge given to servers and potential servers at St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church. I did this by creating an Altar Server Program with a manual and videos to guide students through the process of altar serving. This created a sustainable way for students to be involved in the church and to learn about the Mass and the church community.
Kaitlyn Leverenz
Steps to Success: Inspiring Young Movers
My Gold Award Project aimed to make dance more accessible in my community by eliminating financial barriers. I hosted a free dance clinic where girls could learn and perform, and collected over 250 gently worn dance costumes and shoes for the Boys and Girls Club in Kenosha. By creating these opportunities, I hope to ensure that every child, regardless of their financial situation, has the chance to experience the joy of dance.
Celia Lindokken
Math in the 2020’s - A Parent’s Guide
My Gold Award Project consists of a library of over 40 short-form videos to help parents understand individual standards of Common Core math for grades 1-6. Within these videos, I used a problemfocused approach, targeting the types of practice parents need to help their children with homework. I collaborated with local teachers to pick the ideas parents struggle with most to tailor my project to the needs of the community.
Heather Matenaer
Feeding a Food Desert
My Gold Award Project addressed the issue of child hunger in my community. 92.5% of Laraway School students are low-income, according to Illinois Report Card. This means that almost all of Laraway School children and families would benefit from added help in their community. When a child goes hungry, they cannot focus
on learning or self-improvement. Addressing this issue not only eased children’s hunger, but also set them up for future success.
Aubri Rayne Mathews
Breaking the Language Barrier
My Gold Award Project is multi-faceted with a local and national link to address the language barrier between Deaf/Hardof-Hearing (HOH)/ASL–using individuals and “Hearing” people (people whose native language is spoken English), and providing tangible avenues to pursue connections between visible and audible languages. This project included the creation of ASL Language and Culture program at my high school in order to inform people about the radiant ASL/Deaf culture that exists in our country, via hosting ASL learning sessions where we’d learn from native ASL users, learning and presenting about prominent Deaf and HOH figures in the community, and hosting a Q&A session with a local ASL interpreter. The other facet of this project was creating and posting a video interview with a Deaf Interpreter (interpreted by a Hearing Interpreter), discussing the language barrier, its effects, and possible solutions.
Katherine McCann
Monarch Butterfly Garden
My Gold Award Project addressed a lack of biodiversity which leads to animal extinction. I focused on monarch butterflies which have faced an extreme loss of habitat. With the help of the Waukegan Park District I created my own monarch garden, and educated my local community on why monarch gardens are important and how to make their own.
2025 Girl Scout Gold Awardees
Kylee McCauley
Morning Star Mission
“Welcome Packs” for Homeless Children
My Gold Award Project was creating “Welcome Packs” for the children of MorningStar Mission Homeless Shelters. These packages consisted of a reusable drawstring bag, filled with comforting items, and activities for children to pass the time while staying at the shelter. These items were theirs to keep, and could follow them wherever they went after leaving the shelter. To ensure this process would not end when my project did, I created a social media site, where everyday people could learn about the effect homelessness has on a child’s development, as well as how easily they can reach out to help those in need. It connects the outside world to the homeless shelter, without me needing to be directly involved.
Laci M. Northrup
Project Organize
Your Mind: Promoted
Organizational Skills and Responsibility
My Gold Award Project addressed the lack of knowledge on structure and cleanliness among teens in my community by promoting organizational skills and raising awareness about mental health through interactive presentations and educational materials. To ensure sustainability, I collaborated with school social workers to continue using my resources after my involvement.
Katie O’Brien
Memory Care Kits
My Gold Award Project helped those affected by dementia in my community and beyond. Establishing dementia-friendly communities involves ensuring that public spaces and services are accessible and accommodating, for example, dementia kits at local libraries. Advocacy efforts are essential in shaping policies that address the unique needs of those affected by dementia and their caregivers.
Amelia Osis
Grayslake Youth Theater
My Gold Award Project started when I saw the need for a youth theater program in my hometown since local theater opportunities started only at the middle school level. I teamed up with other teens from my high school and a local non-profit to create Grayslake Youth Theater and although there was a small participation fee to help cover the costs of the performance, we ensured that it was accessible to everyone in our community whether they could pay the fee or not. We hosted auditions, had many rehearsals, and had two successful performances of the Addams Family Young@Part.
Amber Paramore
Teaching About ASL and Deaf Culture
My Gold Award Project was aimed at increasing awareness surrounding Deaf culture and American Sign Language. At school, I taught students sign language in order to ensure they were able to facilitate communication with their peers, hearing and Deaf.
Mia Plunkett
BBB Quality Standard
Book Donation Video
My Gold Award Project was creating a video to educate people on books that can be donated to kids who need them. I partnered with Bernie’s Book Bank (BBB); a registered 501(c)3) organization that sources, processes, and distributes eight free books annually to children, ages birth through 12 years old, through Title I schools and early childhood programs.
Rebecca Roussin
Lights Off For The Bats In The Night
My Gold Award project brought awareness to the teen scholars at Brookfield Zoo and my local community about the benefits of native bats and the harm of light pollution. I gave presentations and created educational materials to be shared to implement new environmentally friendly habits. I also built bat houses that were hung at Dean Nature Sanctuary to provide shelter and safety for the bats.
Lucy Rutkowski
Walking in Prayer
My Gold Award Project was creating a walking path through the woods behind my church for people to be able to meditate, reflect, and pray. Halfway through the path there is a bench if people want to sit in nature, disconnect from technology, and reconnect with their faith.
Lauren Simmons
Look Good Feel Good
My Gold Award Project aims to share and provide skincare and cosmetic tools for teenagers. The goal is to supply tools and techniques for routine daily skincare that can be used for years to come.
Rhea Smith
Gun Violence in the Surrounding Suburbs
My Gold Award Project is about gun violence in the surrounding suburbs, highlighting the upward trend it has been on over the years. gun violence is well known in urban areas like Chicago or New York, but is often overlooked on how it affects the suburbs. It’s causes, effects, and solutions, are necessary to be able to combat this pressing issue in society.
Hailey Stapleton
Biblioburro
My Gold Award Project addressed the lack of non-English reading materials in a children’s hospital. I gathered up books so that they have something to read while they are in the hospital. Along with having books to reading the the hospital, the books are cleaned and can be reused by other children in the hospital.
2025 Girl Scout Gold Awardees
Claire Weigus
Harvester Park Exploration Adventure Kits
My Gold Award Project created interactive activity kits to help Burr Ridge Day Camp kids explore and learn in the Wetlands area. These kits include scavenger hunts with fun facts about Route 66 and local plant species, encouraging campers to play outside, connect with nature, and build friendships.
Abby White
Summer Pet Fun Fair
My Gold Award Project was focused on animals, specifically a rescue group called Forget Me
Not Animal Rescue. The fun fair was there to raise awareness on stray animals themselves, what they’re caused by, how they continue to grow, and how we can prevent and minimize them. It was also used to gather food and litter for the rescue to continue their work.
Madelyn Wright
The Elementary Garden Escapade; Somethymes I Wet my Plants
My Gold Award Project was to rebuild the dilapidated garden beds outside of a local elementary school. I also built brand new raised beds on castor wheels for another elementary school on the same campus, and shared learning plans with both schools for utilization of the garden beds in an engaging way. The produce that is harvested will be used to help fill the local food pantry.
Jasmine Zawahir
Wave of Change: Be the Solution, Not the Pollution
My Gold Award Project addressed the issue of plastic bag and bottle waste and its impact on the waterways. I addressed the root cause by holding events at my local library to teach kids about the impacts of single-use plastic and to show them how to make a reusable bag out of an old t-shirt. Along with the event at my library, I created a book list that addresses the topic of plastic pollution and a Zine (a mini magazine). The Zine explains how they can help fight against plastic pollution in small way.
Car Magnet
Award Disc Backer
Wristlet
Water Bottle Decal
Coin Purse
Award Patch
Gold Awards Committee
Thank you to our committee members who support Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors through the process of earning the Girl Scout Gold Award.
Jane Clark Committee Chair
Jessica Roberson
Binder Coordinator
Yaqoota Aziz
Charlene Getz
Annie Gilmartin
Julie Gilmartin
Faith Harper
Shelley Hendrickson
Juliann Krupa
Abigail Leveille
So Far in 2025
Claire Mangan
Kelli Mason
Kaycee Mendoza
Vanessa Valdez
Megan Wright
Katie Zabielski
Officers
Sidney Dillard
President
Board of Directors
Partner & Head of Corporate
Investment Banking
Loop Capital Markets
Jackie Barlow
1st Vice President
President, US Commercial Real Estate
CIBC, US
Ami McReynolds
2nd Vice President
Chief Equity Officer
Feeding America
Victoria Tate
Treasurer
Principal, Chief Accounting Officer
Avison Young
Shannon Fuller
Secretary
VP of Talent Solutions
Health Care Service Corporation
Ex-Officio Member
Nancy L. Wright
Ex-Officio Member/CEO
Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana
Members
Jill Ahern
Duke Alden
VP, Technology & Operations
Alight Solutions
Danielle Austen
Managing Partner & CEO
fluent360
Susan Beverly Director and Head of Worldwide Transparency, Partnerships and Engagement
Amazon
Theresa Boland Partner
KPMG
Valarie Bomar Vice President & Deputy General Counsel
NiSource
Jillian Burstein Partner
Reed Smith, LLC
Christine Concari
Paul Gariepy Partner Principle
Ernst & Young
Anna Gomez
Global Chief Financial Officer and Partner
Mischief USA and No Fixed Address
Robin Goolsbee
Janet Hulet
President
Navigating Brilliance, Inc.
Lara Liss
Chief Privacy and Data Trust Officer
GE Healthcare
Annette Martinez
Director of External Communications and Outreach Strategy
Argonne National Laboratory
Carla Michelotti
President
Carla Michelotti LLC
Jennifer M. Mikulina Partner
McDermott Will & Emery LLP
Sarah Mills VP, Human Resources
Griffith Foods
Michelle Minon
Managing Director and Trust Market Executive Bank of America
April Morgan
Chicago Transit Authority
Chief of Staff to the Chairman
Carol Murphy
Executive VP President and Casualty Leader
HUB International
Chelsie Nelson
Director, Transaction Advisory Kroll
Patricia Palaez
Principal
Charles River Associates
Kimberly R. Reome
Central Region Lead Partner
The Kenrich Group, LLC
Kathy Scherer
Chicago Office Managing Partner
Deloitte Tax LLP
Hille Sheppard Partner
Sidley Austin LLP
Lovetta Spencer Sr. VP - Senior Corporate Relationship Manager-Healthcare, Higher Education & Not for profit US Bank
