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Meet the CEO
Maria Wynne, CEO
Maria E. Wynne is CEO (chief executive officer) for Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, the largest Girl Scout council in the country. She is the first CEO to lead the council following an unprecedented merger of seven independent councils on July 1, 2008. The council brings together vast resources that expand opportunities for nearly 95,000 girls and 24,000 volunteers in 245 communities in six Illinois counties (Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kankakee, Lake and Will) and four Indiana counties (Jasper, Lake, Newton, and Porter).
Under Ms. Wynne’s leadership, the council defied a national trend of decreased membership for first-year merged Girl Scout councils. One year after its merger, Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana experienced a +1 percent increase in girl members. The council also launched a new staffing structure, a new delegate system, and a restructured service delivery system that is designed to connect volunteers with each other and to the professional staff who support them.
In her leadership position, Ms. Wynne oversees all council operations, including the work of all professional staff members and the actions of its volunteers and girl members, with the goal of further enhancing the Girl Scout Leadership Experience for all girls. She is focused on expanding leadership opportunities for girls, as well as increasing diversity and bringing together girls from different backgrounds and communities.
Ms. Wynne’s vision of increasing leadership development opportunities for young people became a reality with the grand opening of Journey World, the Girl Scout Center for Leadership and Innovation, an experiential learning center that encourages students to learn about science, technology, engineering and math, in addition to environmental sciences, commerce, entrepreneurism, financial literacy, and career exploration.
Ms. Wynne has been named a 2009 Athena Award nominee by ATHENA International, and as a result of her leadership during its first year, Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana is the first recipient of the ATHENA Organizational Leadership Award.
Prior to joining the Girl Scouts, Ms. Wynne was senior director for the Office of Citizenship and Innovation for the U.S. Public Sector for Microsoft Corporation. In that role she worked primarily with mayors and mayoral staffs across the country to develop programs that conquered the "digital divide." She also served as the general manager for the U.S. State and Local Government Division where she led the sales organization's major strategic accounts.
Ms. Wynne's successes include myriad accomplishments in sales, marketing, business development and operations management for technology leaders Xerox, Microsoft, Ameritech, and Moore Corporation (now RR Donnelley). As a senior executive leader, she has held vice president and general manager roles leading sizable sales organizations serving both public and private sectors.
Ms. Wynne earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois, and her Master of Business Administration from Northern Illinois University. She has continued her executive development through the Center for Creative Leadership and through Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
She is co-author of "A Road Map Toward Digital Inclusion: New Imperatives Offer Municipalities Social and Economic Opportunities" and "Innovating for Inclusion: A Digital Inclusion Guide for Those Leading the Way," groundbreaking whitepapers in the area of digital inclusion and digital literacy planning for state and local governments.
A lifelong supporter of the arts, Ms. Wynne serves on the board of the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. She is also on the Board of Trustees of North Central College in Naperville, IL; and is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago.
Ms. Wynne, born in the United States, was raised in Bogota, Colombia, South America, until age 15. She credits her school in Colombia, led by Franciscan Nuns from Minnesota, for having encouraged girls to think broadly and develop leadership skills. She recognizes the importance of early exposure to freeing young minds and spirits in order for children to develop a desire to pursue their full potential. Ms. Wynne shares her personal mission with that of the Girl Scouts, bringing a true commitment to her desire to nurture today’s girls so they become the next generation of future women leaders.
She resides in the northwest suburbs of Illinois.