Council Leadership

Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana operates under the leadership of a volunteer board of directors, a chief executive officer (CEO), and a team of professional staff with expertise in a variety of specific fields who all work together in myriad ways to ensure that girls benefit from their Girl Scout experiences.

Meet the CEO

Maria Wynne, CEO

Maria Wynne is Chief Executive Officer for Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, the premier leadership development program for girls ages five through 17.  As CEO of the nation’s largest Girl Scout council, Ms. Wynne leverages resources to ensure the delivery of award-winning program and engagement opportunities to nearly 86,000 girls and 23,000 volunteers across six Illinois counties and four Indiana counties.

A successful executive with some of American’s leading technology brands, Microsoft and Xerox, Ms. Wynne was appointed in October 2008, to lead the merger of seven independent Girl Scout corporations, the largest merger in the country, into one.  Ms. Wynne oversees all council operations with the goal of making the Girl Scout Leadership Experience accessible to all girls across 245 communities. She is focused on expanding learning and leadership opportunities for girls, as well as creating an experiential environment that will prepare girls and young women to become well-equipped 21st Century global citizens and workers.

Under Ms. Wynne’s leadership, the recently-merged council experienced an increase in girl members, and launched a new staffing structure, a new delegate system, and a restructured service delivery system.  Within just two years of Ms. Wynne’s direction, this new way of doing business has been acknowledged and the organization awarded with the inaugural ATHENA Organizational Leadership Award, the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago’s Highly Innovative Project Award for GirlSpace, the Community Memorial Foundation Achievement Award, and the Woman Road Warrior – Future Division Award.

Most recently, Ms. Wynne has been named Chicago Executive of the Year 2011, by the Public Relations Society of America and was named by Today’s Chicago Woman Magazine as one of the “100 Women Making a Difference” in July 2011.

Ms. Wynne’s community involvement includes serving on the board of the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, the Board of Trustees of North Central College, the Donors Forum, and as an advisory board member for the Chicago Innovation Awards and the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center.  She is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, The Chicago Network, The Chicago Club, and The Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

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. Her successes include accomplishments in executive leadership and general management in technology, sales, marketing, business development and operations management for technology leaders Xerox, Microsoft, Ameritech (now AT&T), and Moore Corporation (now RR Donnelley).

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 continued her executive development through the Center for Creative Leadership, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and Harvard Business School.

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.

Scott Kappmeyer, Chief Financial Officer

Scott is responsible for the long-term business and financial strategies of the council. Scott most recently served as senior vice president of finance and administration for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. Prior to that, he was chief operating officer at Grenzebach Glier & Associates, chief financial officer at National Safety Council and served in various finance leadership roles at the Quaker Oats Company. He is a certified public accountant and earned his MBA in Finance from the Booth School, University of Chicago. He received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Illinois State University.

Kathryn Mlsna, Chief Strategy and Governance Officer

Kathryn joined us most recently from Global Lead Management Consulting (now Global Novations) where she was Assistant Vice President of Client Services, developing strategies for diverse workforce recruitment, retention and advancement; and providing legal support.  Prior to that, Kathryn was Senior Director and Managing Counsel in the Global Legal Department at McDonald's Corporation where her team provided marketing and intellectual property legal support for the corporation.  Kathryn is an industry speaker and a  published author in the business and legal arenas, with longtime leadership in the area of mentoring.  She 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, being honored with a Thanks Badge.  Kathryn also chaired the Transitional Nominating Committee of the re-aligned council.  Most recently, Kathryn served on the Board of Directors of Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana. Kathryn holds a B.A. in Sociology from Northwestern University and a J.D. from the Northwestern University School of Law.  Kathryn brings to our council her extensive experience with not-for-profit boards. 

Christine Hauri, Chief Marketing Officer

Chris brings years of marketing expertise, having worked for several advertising and marketing agencies in the past. She is the founder of The Grand Group, an innovative and creative marketing agency and taught marketing at the college level.  Most recently, she is the founder and leader of Mirror Image, a consultant-based organization that provides professional workshops for women in transition. Chris earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Advertising from the University of Illinois, and her Master of Arts degree in Personal and Professional Development from DePaul University.

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 a 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 is responsible for organizational strategies and tactical oversight related to volunteer management systems, volunteer learning opportunities, and volunteer 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.

Connie Willegal, Vice President of Program Strategy

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.

Board of Directors

Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana is governed by a volunteer board of directors composed of women and men who believe in the value of Girl Scouting and the program's ability to build girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place.

Board members use their professional expertise and personal perspectives to make decisions that provide leadership for the council and establish its policies and bylaws. These governance volunteers represent our membership and reflect its diversity, including geographic, racial/ethnic, gender, age and socio-economic. Board members are elected by the full Delegate Assembly.

Officers

President - Jeanne Reynolds, Fifth Third Bank
First Vice President - Maryann Waryjas, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
Second Vice President - Monica Weed, Navigant Consulting, Inc.
Third Vice President - Christine McGrath, Kraft Foods
Secretary - Ann McAloon, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Treasurer - Janet Gibbs, Feeding America

Chief Executive Officer – Maria Wynne

Directors

Josephine (Jodi) Bahl, Ernst & Young LLP
Adela Cepeda, AC Advisory Inc.
Gwen Cohen, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
Sidney Dillard, Loop Capital Markets
Laura Duda, Exelon Corporation
Karen Eng, CSMI
Jennifer Garr, Hackworth Lee, Inc.
Maureen Jamrock, Retired
Giovanna Koning, Falcon Holdings, LLC
Karen Layng, Vedder Price
Carla Michelotti, Leo Burnett Worldwide
Meg Murray, Sara Lee Corporation
Marlena Peleo-Lazar, McDonald's Corporation
Kathy Scherer, Deloitte
Karen Schillings, Retired
Violet Sistovaris, NiSource
Rocco Smeriglio, Yahoo!
Margaret Stender, Chicago Sky and Flow Basketball Academy
Eileen Sweeney, Motorola Mobility
Phyllis Cochran, Navistar, Inc.
Jim Dimitriou, Tatum
Scott Saunders, HAVI Global Solutions
Tamara Meyer, Health Care Service Corporation
Cheryl Pearson-McNeil, Neilsen

Girl Members

Emily Rose Bartusiak
Katie Loftus
Angelina Krug
Kierra Franklin
Neathie Patel
Molly Triolo