This is one of those podcasts where we use outside sources to talk about the bigger picture of ~the movement.~ Today, I'm looking back at the past year for girls and children around the world and looking forward to how this connects to our focus areas for 2024.

We’re back with one of our favorite return guests, Sheryl! We’ve talked about so many topics from gold awards to silver awards to older girl retention and today we are talking about preparing to attend convention as an adult attendee, a national delegate, or as a chaperone for girls (or all of the above!).

If you're thinking about or planning a holiday/Christmas party for your troop, this replay episode will give you some things to consider to ensure you are cultivating an inclusive troop environment.

This week I'm answering your questions again! Thanks to Donna and Tabatha for this week's questions. Want to ask a question? Join the Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/girlscoutpodcast) or send me an e-mail (girlscoutpodcast@gmail.com)

This week, I'm interviewing my friend Niki, who is a troop leader, service team member, and board member for my council, Girl Scouts Arizona Cactus-Pine. In addition to sharing her own Troop Leader story, she's also shedding light on what the board does and how to get involved in the movement at a higher level.

Today's guest is my friend and former GSACPC colleague, Amber R. She currently works for the Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa & Western Illinois council. Her experience is in conflict resolution, recruitment, and volunteer support and in today's episode, she's sharing some stories about her own Girl Scout experiences, some advice for troop leaders about conflict resolution, and some insight into the focus areas of the Movement based on what our girls are up against today.

The national convention recently happened in Orlando, FL and a lot of you have been wondering, what is it like to go to convention? I brought on a guest who traveled across the country with her daughter to attend for the first time. In this interview, Vanessa and I chatted about her expectations beforehand (what was met, what was exceeded, and what was a bit of a letdown), how she was personally impacted during the most moving parts of the event including the opening ceremony and keynote address, and her advice and suggestions for people considering attending convention in 2026.

Happy Founders Day TODAY, October 31. Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts in the USA, was born on October 31, 1860. In honor of her birthday, this week, we are talking about Juliette Low!

This week we are catching up with Merana Cadorette, a lifetime Girl Scout who is focused today on history, archives, and art.

This week we are bringing you an awesome interview with Susan Eckers, who was a Girl Scout leader across all levels for her own daughter and then stayed on to train and mentor other volunteers, and to serve on her council's history committee. She's attended both the 75th and 100th anniversary celebrations and has gone to nearly every convention in her time as a Girl Scout volunteer. Girl Scouts is such a big part of her family that even her husband serves on her council's history committee! Susan shares not just some interesting stories and memories of her own experiences, but she also shares some tips and best practices and advice for leaders, some historical perspective and history including multiple great Juliette Low stories, and more!

This episode is based on a question from an anonymous leader on Facebook recently... (Actually, she wasn't anonymous, but I forgot to include her name in the screenshot I took of her question... oops!)

This episode is based on a question from an anonymous leader on Facebook recently...

On this podcast, we LOVE to talk about GSLE, but if you're new to Girl Scouts, you probably need a brief overview. In this Back to Troop Bonus, we are talking about the three keys to leadership and the three processes as outlined by the GSLE framework.

This week I am joined by guest Jennifer from GS NorCal. She’s a troop leader for older girls and a member services manager supporting the volunteers in her area. She’s got advice for new troop leaders, shares her best tips for older girl retention, and best of all: we are talking ALL about her trip to Savannah with 13 twelve-year-old Girl Scout Cadettes.

Last week's Back to Troop Bonus episode was an introduction to uniforms, so this week we are talking about insignia and badge placement.

This episode is based on a couple of questions from Facebook recently...

It's time to buy new uniforms and opening up the website or walking into your council shop can be OVERWHELMING. In this Back to Troop Bonus episode, we are covering some uniform basics.

This episode is based on a couple of questions from Facebook recently...

It's a new Girl Scout season, so for the month of September, I thought it would be important to have some bonus episodes on Thursdays that are geared toward newer Troop Leaders who might be overwhelmed coming into the Girl Scout movement for the first time. In this episode, we are talking about some basics and clearing up some general concepts and the structure of the Girl Scout organization.

This episode is based on an anonymous question from one of our leader friends: "What are we supposed to do with unsold GS cookies? An extra case was ordered and could not be sold no matter how hard we tried. Now I have a case of cookies taking up space that I'm unsure of what to do with."

"Any tips for how to help my Junior troop brainstorm for Bronze? (Or honestly any take action?)" & "How do you get girls interested in working on the real meat of the Girl Scout program - journeys and higher awards?"

Girl-Led does not mean "let them do what they want." It does mean: 1) Understand what motivates them 2) Set boundaries together 3) Listen to them 4) Notice what they notice 5) Share happy moments 6) Respect their opinions 7) Empower them In this episode, I'm digging in to all the details of what those 7 tips might look like in your troop.

This episode is based on a question submitted by Erica on Facebook. Erica asked: "How do you handle new girls coming into your troop part way through the season? Do you offer them the opportunity to catch up and earn patches/petals on their own time and just offer the tools or ideas for earning? Or do you just move on and they earn from when they join and forward?"

This episode is based on a question submitted by Kelly on Facebook. Kelly asked: "Do you have any info on how to work through councils? I know it's not a one size fits all, but is a degree needed? How do you get your foot in the door? Is there a way to get notified when jobs are needed?"