Dear Friend,
We are pleased to share with you our board prospectus. It provides a powerful snapshot of our mission, program, and impact on the nearly 12,000 Nassau County girls served through Girl Scouting last year.
Since our inception in 1918, Girl Scouts of Nassau County has been igniting courage, confidence, and character in our local girls. We continue to deliver dynamic programming that empowers each girl to learn, grow, and lead. Through our Girl Scout Leadership Experience, girls have endless opportunities to discover strengths, meet challenges, and work together to create the world they wish to live in.
As you read through our prospectus and see the investments and impact we are making in Nassau County, we ask that you give thoughtful consideration to joining our board. The support, leadership, commitment, and vision shared by our board members ensure that relevant, high-quality, transformative Girl Scout experiences are accessible to Nassau County girls of all backgrounds and abilities. Together, we will work to build upon our strong foundation and grow as an organization to meet the ever-evolving needs of the girls in our community.
Thank you for your interest in joining us in this mission.
Yours in Girl Scouting,
Andrea Esq. President and Chief Volunteer Officer Julie Strachan Haiber, Esq. Chair, Board Development Committee
Julie Strachan Haiber, Esq.
Andrea Elder-Howell, Esq.
Elder-Howell,
A message from the Chair of our Board Development Committee, Julie Strachan Haiber, Esq.
We’re Girl Scouts of Nassau County. We’re 16,463 strong. Last year, we served 11,894 girls, 4,569 adults, and 1,510 lifetime members who believe in the power of every girl from Nassau County to change the world. For over 103 years, girls and adults in Nassau County have come together to make friends and serve their community and the world. The values found in the Girl Scout Promise and Law serve as a lifelong road map to guide girls’ behavior and attitudes.
Through activities in science and technology, business and financial literacy, and outdoor and environmental awareness, Girl Scouting provides girls with opportunities for fun and friendship while fostering the development of leadership skills and self-esteem in an all-girl environment. Girl Scouts of Nassau County continues to provide girls with programs—safely in person—using the four program pillars of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience (STEM, outdoors, life skills, and entrepreneurship). Throughout the pandemic, we also focused on their mental well-being, helped mitigate learning loss, as well as focused on civic engagement and social change. Our girls rose to unprecedented challenges with grit and determination.
Girl Scouts of Nassau County (GSNC) is investing in the girls we serve in Nassau County. We work with over 250 community partners across Nassau County to help girls learn and explore how to Discover, Connect, and Take Action. Through our community partnerships in schools, houses of worship, and businesses, girls participate in Girl Scout programs that are age-appropriate and girl-driven, teach life skills, and reflect the interests and needs of today’s girls. Girls who participate in Girl Scouts are not only getting a troop experience, they are also getting enriching experiences such as field trips, the outdoors, environmental stewardship, sports, community service projects, entrepreneurial skills, STEAM, and more. These enriching experiences offer Girl Scouts the opportunity to explore career options as well as gain the skills needed to have the edge with achieving their post-high school aspirations.
Girl Scouts helps girls not only grow courageous and strong, but helps them to develop their full potential relating to others with respect and understanding, and builds citizens who make change in their communities.
View Gold Award video
View Camp Blue Bay video
View GSNC Year in Review
Girl Scouts of Nassau County at a glance
11,880 girls enjoyed the opportunities of Girl Scouts with the help of
3,085 adult volunteers
There are
1,510 lifetime members
53 girls earned their Gold Award
485 girls earned their Silver Award
311 girls earned their Bronze Award
398 girls enjoyed summer camp, filling 543 sessions. In addition, 483 girls and 378 adults participated in council programs and troop camping
34,860 service hours were earned by
1,073 GSNC girls
8,120
girls participated in the 2022 Girl Scout Cookie Program
954,720 packages of cookies sold
3,149 girls participated in Girl Scouts of Nassau County programs
88,181 packages of cookies were donated through the 2021-2022 Gift of Caring program which includes Operation Cookie and Hometown Heroes
$760,720 went back to girls as troop proceeds
Make a difference
As a member of the Board of Directors of Girl Scouts of Nassau County, you will make a difference in the lives of thousands of girls. You will help open doors to new experiences that build courage, confidence, and character, and help girls develop the leadership skills that will set them on the path of success that will last a lifetime.
Board Guidelines
The Board of Directors provides strategic leadership to the council and monitors its activities and finances to ensure that resources are effectively managed. Comprised of up to 35 members with for-profit and nonprofit backgrounds, the board is fully representative of the Nassau County communities the council serves. As a Girl Scout of Nassau County board member you will attend five meetings, in addition to our annual meeting. You will also serve on one or more of our committees which include Finance and Audit, Board Development, Fund Development, Human Resources, People, Governance, Girl Leadership, and Community Relations. In addition, ad hoc committees are occasionally formed to address specific initiatives.
To become or nominate a board member or a member of the Board Development Committee: https://www.gsnc.org/content/dam/girlscouts-gsnc/documents/gsnc_referral-to-board-development-committee.pdf
Board Responsibilities
Provide leadership by making girls and Girl Scouting in Nassau County a philanthropic priority. In order to achieve our exciting vision, Girl Scouts of Nassau County seeks board candidates who have a strong interest in helping to advance our mission and vision and the ability to make Girl Scouts of Nassau County one of your top three priorities when it comes to your own philanthropy.
Give annually to Girl Scouts of Nassau County, which includes:
⚬ Attend five board meetings and the council annual meeting
⚬ Give a personal and meaningful gift of at least $500 to the Annual Board Appeal by December 31 beginning with the year of election
⚬ Purchasing a minimum of two tickets to both our fall and spring fundraisers. Estimated cost: $700
⚬ Providing access and making introductions to a strong personal and professional network in Nassau County
Securing for Girl Scouts of Nassau County support through your engagement in one or more of the following:
⚬ Helping us grow our base of individuals and donors invested in our mission
⚬ Securing tables and sponsorships from your employer and/or those corporations in your network for our special events
⚬ Helping us secure support from family, independent, and/or corporate foundations
⚬ Nominating and helping to secure board members, committee members, and honorees during a board member’s term, especially when it is concluding
2023-2024
Board of Directors & Officers
Andrea Elder-Howell, Esq.
President & Chief Volunteer Officer
Melanie Sinesi
Executive Vice President
Allison Bishop White Vice President
Tonia Bottoms, Esq. Vice President
John Zhao Vice President
Leah Watson Treasurer
Julie Strachan Haiber, Esq. Secretary
Members-at-Large
Lisa Arning
Natalie Borneo
Kevin Boston-Hill
Danielle D’Ambrosio
Vikki Ernst-Chang
Susan Ganz
Gabby Gibbs
Dr. Adrian Goodwin
Belinda Hill
Steven Lindo
Susan MacDonald
Mike Mannix
Patricia Mercer
Lasherelle Morgan, Esq.
Melanie Pavlidis
Dr. Jean Peden Christodoulou
Madison Spanodemos
Anne Marie Spensieri-Fidis
Lauren Summa
Denise Voda
Pawel Zagaja
110 Ring Road West Garden City, NY 11530
516-741-2550
www.gsnc.org
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.
*Members may substitute for the word God in accordance with their own spiritual beliefs.
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.
