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Senior Leadership Team

Mavis Laing, Chief Operations Officer

Mavis served most recently as Vice President of Volunteer Services for the Illinois Division of the American Cancer Society in Chicago. In that capacity, she was responsible for organizing and managing a broad range of programs and infrastructure supporting the activities of more than 20,000 volunteers working from 16 offices located throughout the state of Illinois. Prior to joining the American Cancer Society, Mavis led successful sales and marketing organizations at the Xerox Corporation across the United States. She was Vice President of Sales Operations for the Central Region where she was responsible for profit and loss for an organization of $300M which served more than 90 dealers and 350 sales representatives across an 11-state territory. Prior to that, Mavis was Vice President and General Manager for Xerox of Houston Texas, Corporate Executive Assistant to the President of the United States Customer Operation in Rochester, New York, and Manager of Sales Operations of Xerox, Greater Los Angeles where she was also the Marketing Manager and District Manager of Sales in California. Mavis holds a Bachelor of Arts, with a major in Psychology from Arizona State University and a Master of Arts in Speech and Language Pathology from New York University.

Bryn Reese, Chief Development Officer

Bryn is responsible for strategic and tactic oversight and implementation of an integrated fundraising and marketing initiative to raise $3.5 million in Fiscal Year 2009. She has an extensive track record in major gifts, corporate and foundation support, government grants and special events. Prior to joining the Girl Scouts, she held positions as Senior Vice President, Chicago Botanic Garden; Executive Vice President, Metropolitan Family Services; Vice President for External Affairs, Chicago Council on Foreign Relations; and Vice President for External Affairs, Chicago Academy of Sciences. Bryn earned her Bachelor of Science in Merchandising at the University of Arizona and her Master of Science in Rehabilitation Administration at DePaul University.

John D'Amaro, Chief Financial Officer

John most recently was the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer for HD Smith, the fourth largest national pharmaceutical wholesaler, doing 3.5 billion dollars in sales annually. During his tenure there, he led the Finance, Accounting, Treasury, Credit and Contacts departments. As the company grew from a staff of 250 to a peak of 900, he developed infrastructure and created policies to support all financial, credit, personnel and technology-related areas. Over his 25-year career in the healthcare industry John has received a number of industry awards in technology and innovation, and as Executive of the Year.

John has been actively involved in a number of community and civic organizations that work with children and the homeless. He is currently is serving on the board of directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Illinois and with Helping Hands. In the past, he also served on the boards of the Visiting Nurses Association of NY and the Little League, Rockville Centre, NY. John earned his Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Bentley College and his Master of Finance from Pace University.

Kathryn Mlsna, Chief Integration Officer

Kathryn joins us from Global Lead Management Consulting where she was Assistant Vice President of Client Services. Prior to that role, Kathryn was Senior Director and Managing Counsel of the Global Legal Department at the McDonald’s Corporation. Kathryn previously held the titles of Senior Counsel and Counsel of the U.S. Marketing Department at the McDonald’s Corporation.

In addition to her accomplished professional background, Kathryn is a dedicated Girl Scout, who began as a Brownie Girl Scout, became the mother of a Girl Scout, then served as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the legacy Prairie Winds council. Most recently, Kathryn has been serving on the Board of Directors of Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana. Kathryn holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Northwestern University and a J.D. from the Northwestern University School of Law. Kathryn has also completed Six Sigma training and has attended leadership training at the Kellogg School of Management.

Janet Neubert, Vice President of Human Resources and Organization Effectiveness

Janet joins us most recently from Nicor, Inc. where she managed executive and other compensation programs for Nicor Gas and other subsidiaries. Prior to that role, Janet worked at Nicor Services as their director of human resources. Other experience includes consulting for Flex Execs Management Solutions and Armature, Inc. where she held a variety of human resources roles including the director for North American operations. Janet has been involved with Girl Scouts since she was young. She was very active within the Prairie Winds Council and was a camp counselor and assistant director at Camp Greenwood. She chaired the Nominating Committee for the legacy DuPage County Council, responsible for recruiting board members, and also had a seat as a board member. During our council realignment process Janet served on the Human Resources Subcommittee helping to lay the HR foundation for the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana. Janet has a Masters of Human Resources Management from Keller Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell College. She is also a certified senior professional in human resources and master trainer for the Girl Scouts. She currently serves on the Board of the Human Resources Association of Greater Oak Brook, a local chapter of the Society of Human Resource Management.

Miriam Baker, Vice President of Membership

Miriam previously was Transition Vice President of Membership and in that role was responsible for membership strategy and planning during the transition. In her Girl Scout career of nearly 12 years, Miriam has held membership and senior management positions at Girl Scouts - Trailways Council leading into the merger of the current organization. Miriam is an alumna of St. Xavier University with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. She holds a Certificate in Family Counseling and has extensive additional continuing education in management.

Gwen Ferguson, Vice President of Volunteer Services

Gwen previously was Transition Vice President of Adult Leadership Initiatives and in that role she was responsible for volunteer processes, training, and support services. In her Girl Scout career of more than 30 years, Gwen has held a variety of functional and senior management positions at five Girl Scout councils leading into the merger of the current organization. She is an alumna of Illinois State University with a Bachelor of Science in Sociology and she holds a Certificate of Volunteer Management from Harper College.

Jennifer Fredericks, Regional Vice President – South Region

Jennifer previously worked at JPMorgan Chase, where she held the position of Assistant Vice President of Escrow Services. Previous to her tenure at the bank, Jennifer's other positions include running a state wide political campaign, and leading humanitarian missions in more than 13 countries. In addition, she has served on the board of directors for Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, as well as the legacy Drifting Dunes Board of Directors. Jennifer received her Bachelor of Science in Management from Calumet College of St. Joseph and is currently pursuing her Masters of Business Administration from Purdue University. Civic and community organizations include Leadership Northwest Indiana, Northwest Indiana Quality of Life Council, and the Calumet College Alumni organization. Jennifer is involved with the Girl Scouts CIYO leadership program and had the opportunity to be a facilitator at the Girl Scouts Spring Conference, in Orlando, Florida, last year. Jennifer was a Girl Scout in Sycamore Council.

Luanne Irvin, Vice President of Individual Giving and Alumnae Relations

Luanne previously held the position of Assistant Vice President of External Affairs at Metropolitan Family Services. Luanne has held leadership positions including Resource Development Director for the Northern Illinois Food Bank, Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Leadership Giving for United Way of Suburban Chicago, and numerous positions with the National Easter Seal Society. Luanne is an alumna of Blackburn College where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Communication. She holds a Master of Science of Education in Counseling from Northern Illinois University.

Theresa Salus, Vice President of Program Innovation

Theresa grew up as a Girl Scout and was a Girl Scout from grades 1-12. Theresa attended Slippery Rock University, PA, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Education and a Bachelor of Science in Theatre Design and Technology. She minored in Community Service and Service Learning. Theresa holds a Masters in Recreation Administration with a specialization in Outdoor Pursuits Programming. Theresa’s joined the staff of Girl Scouts of Chicago in 2003 in the area of program management, and was previously an outdoor program consultant, summer camp director and program director. She also was technical director for the Court Theatre in Chicago and site preparation crew chief for Ravenswood special events. A lifetime member of the Association of Girl Scout Executive Staff (AGSES), she has served on the Professional Development Committee and 2008 National Conference Committee. Theresa also served on the GSUSA Camp Kindred Committee where she coordinated Professional Development Workshops for the Girl Scout Camp Professional and assisted with proofing prior to publication of the New Safety Wise Manual

Connie Willegal, Regional Vice President – North Region

Connie previously served as the Lead Transition Vice President of Strategic Integration for the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago & Northwest Indiana, and in that role was responsible for project management and coordination of functional operations and special projects. In her Girl Scout career of nearly 16 years, Connie has held senior and C-level leadership positions at Girl Scouts - Illinois Crossroads Council leading up to the merger of the current organization. Connie is an alumna of Carthage College with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She earned a Masters of Management from North Park University. In addition, she has earned certificates in Non-profit Management, Resource Development, and Excellence in Non-profit Management. Connie has been a board member with the Lake County Afterschool Coalition and the Lake County YWCA. Her memberships include American Association of University Women, Leadership Illinois, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and the National Notary Association.

Monica Woodson as Regional Vice President – Central Region

Monica has diverse experience working with large and small nonprofit organizations, and she has spent nearly 14 years in executive management and supervisory roles. For the past 10 years, Monica was the Executive Director of the Deaf, Hearing, and Sign Language Center in Detroit, an organization dedicated to bridging the gap between problems and solutions for underserved communities. Her prior positions were with Urban Business Consultants as a senior consultant; the National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence as human resources director, special projects manager, and program development manager; and the Detroit Health Department where she was an evaluation supervisor. Monica grew up in Detroit, Michigan. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Wayne State University.