C-SUITE AWARDS 2020 CEO, NONPROFIT/SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES: Pam Hyland | Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England
IN THESE EXTRAORDINARY times, Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England CEO Pam Hyland finds new environments invigorating.
She and other executives for Girl Scouts of the USA must keep the organization viable and meaningful, even as they face challenges, such as the Boy Scouts of America’s 2018 decision to welcome girls into its organization and, more immediately, the social-distancing protocols that were implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If girls leave for the Boy Scouts or some other girl-centric program … they are ours to lose,” Hyland said. “We teach girls to make decisions that are right for them.”
As for social distancing, Hyland is doubling down on creativity. Microsoft Teams and virtual website programming keep GSSNE staff and Girl Scouts, respectively, involved and engaged. Eager to ensure that the organization remains meaningful to Girl Scouts and their families, Hyland said that the Girl Scouts “haven’t gone away.”
“[We] just look different,” Hyland said. “The girls are selling cookies virtually and adults are delivering them safely to hospital workers.”
GSSNE serves 5,800 girls ages 5-17 who are part of 519 troops within Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts. With an annual budget of slightly more than $3.8 million, Hyland manages 32 full-time and 70 seasonal employees.
Deb Ricci, a GSSNE board member since 2019, said that Hyland “stays calm under pressure [and] uses educated resources to make her decisions.”
Those decisions included promptly suspending all troop activities, including in-person cookie sales, closing the office to visitors and allowing employees to work remotely, even before Gov. Gina M. Raimondo ordered nonessential workplaces to close due to the pandemic.
‘I like innovation and I don’t like to stand still.’
PAM HYLAND, Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England CEO
When Hyland arrived to lead GSSNE in December 2015, she recognized the need to establish some much-needed infrastructure. Hyland implemented policies and procedures related to board governance and development, by-laws, fundraising, risk management and human resources. Gallup Certified Strengths Coach Facilitator Cindy Scibetta-Butts and Tim Hebert, a long-time entrepreneur, public speaker, author and leadership activator, were particularly helpful in the human resources arena.
“The further along you are on the leadership path, the more you realize what you don’t know. You need [your] team to move you forward,” said Hyland, who lauded Scibetta-Butts, Hebert and GSSNE board Chair George Shuster for their support and guidance.
Running a nonprofit organization requires diverse skills. While CEOs must keep a close eye on the business’s bottom line, they must give equal attention to creatively furthering the organization’s mission.
To that end, Hyland is focusing on evaluating the GSSNE’s properties, which include four campsites.
“We’re looking at right-sizing … to make the camps we keep stronger, better and more financially sustainable,” Hyland said.
Hyland, who gained an appreciation for environment and nature as a young Girl Scout, endorses an Iroquois belief she learned during an earlier GSUSA leadership post: “The decisions you make today must be solid and good for seven generations out.”
So often, Hyland said, people make decisions that make them look good in the short-term.
Hyland “bleeds [GSUSA] green,” Ricci said, meaning Hyland’s “entire thought process [focuses] on what will this do for the betterment of the girls and the volunteers, as well. It’s not always looking at profitability.”
At Hyland’s initiative, a board committee is also working to identify GSSNE alumnae so that they can be recognized and, perhaps, recruited to participate in event planning, committee or board work, Ricci said. The committee is eager to explore volunteer partnerships with local companies.
Girl Scouts do far more than sell cookies. Asserting that every girl can be a go-getter, innovator, risk-taker and leader, the GSUSA reported in 2018 that three of the nation’s four female governors and 73% of the female U.S. senators were Girl Scout alumnae.
Earning badges in coding and cybersecurity, today’s GSSNE girls have initiated anti-bullying initiatives and welcomed three transgender boys transitioning to girls. Those situations were handled on a case-specific basis, said Hyland, who embraces her myriad challenges.
“I want to get [them] right. I like innovation and I don’t like to stand still,” Hyland said.
