2024 GSGCNWI Gold Award Ceremony

Sunday, June 2, 2024

Hyatt Lodge, 2815 Jorie Blvd., Oak Brook

Gold Award Girl Scouts Change the World

Gold Award Girl Scouts are change-makers. They have changed the world, changed lives, and earned the most prestigious award in Girl Scouting.

To earn the Gold Award, a Girl Scout identifies an issue in her community, drafts a plan to address the root cause, and leads a team of volunteers to implement it. When the project is complete, the Gold Award Girl Scout and her team have made a sustainable impact on the world that continues to last beyond her involvement.

It’s a huge accomplishment that also impacts the Gold Award Girl Scout as a person. How she sees the world—and how the world sees her—is forever changed. It’s also a credential that will be with her for the rest of her life; having the Girl Scout Gold Award on a high school transcript or résumé can make a Girl Scout stand out when it comes to college admissions, scholarship applications, internships, and job interviews.

Girl Scout Mission

Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.

Girl Scout Promise

On my honor, I will try: To serve God and my country, To help people at all times, And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

Girl

Scout Law

I will do my best to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, courageous and strong, and responsible for what I say and do, and to respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout.

Girl Scouts Lifetime Membership

Congratulations, high school graduates!

As you embark on this exciting new phase of your life, we look forward to supporting you as a Girl Scout alum and having you remain a part of the Girl Scout family. We’re proud that the skills you’ve learned in Girl Scouts have prepared you to take on your next adventure.

As a lifetime member of Girl Scouts, you will remain connected with the Movement while continuing to be a champion for girls who are changing the world—today and for generations to come.

Become a Lifetime Member at mygs.girlscouts.org

Your lifetime membership also includes benefits, such as discounts and invitations to special events.

Scan the QR code to join as a lifetime member.

2024 Gold Award Ceremony

Presentation of Colors

Welcome

Alumna Impact

Saucedo Girl Scout Troops in Chicago’s Little Village: SU276. 25397, 25398, & 24520

Jane Clark Gold Award Committee Chair

Kiersten Rasberry Gold Award Alumna, Class of 2017

Leadership Remarks Nancy Wright GSGCNWI CEO

Words of Inspiration

Presentation of Awards

Closing Remarks

Retire the Colors

Latoya Gardner

Director of Community Troop Experience GSGCNWI

Jane Clark

Kiersten Rasberry

Nancy Wright

Saucedo Girl Scout Troops in Chicago’s Little Village

EMCEES

Kiersten Rasberry

Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in the western suburbs, Kiersten Rasberry has always had a passion for community service. This drive began in the third grade when she joined the Girl Scouts, immersing herself in all the opportunities the organization offered. By her freshman year of high school, she served as a Girl Representative on the Board of the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana. That same summer, she attended Camp CEO, where she embraced the idea of being a “Girl Boss.” Kiersten completed her Gold Award project on “Success: A High School Survival Guide.” After high school, Kiersten pursued her studies at Princeton University, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Medical Anthropology with a certificate in Global Health and Health Policy. Her interest in healthcare was sparked by her family’s own experiences, leading her to pursue a career in medicine. Following her graduation from Princeton in 2021, Kiersten worked at Northwestern University as a clinical research coordinator in the Clinical Trials Unit of the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute. Currently, Kiersten is a second-year medical student at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. With a keen interest in cardiology, she continues her journey towards becoming a medical professional dedicated to improving the health and well-being of others.

Jane Clark

Jane Clark serves as the Senior Vice President of Operations at NationaLease, bringing nearly 15 years of dedicated service to the organization. Prior to joining NationaLease, Jane served as the Area Vice President for Randstad, and her professional journey also includes management roles with QPS Companies, Pro Staff, and Manpower, Inc.

Jane holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from North Central College and a Master of Arts in Communication from Northern Illinois University. Jane has been a member of the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana Gold Award Committee for over 10 years and serves as the Committee Chair.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Latoya Gardner

Latoya Gardner became a Girl Scout when she was 6 years old and has been one ever since. After many years as a member of Girl Scouts on Chicago’s South Side, she earned her Gold Award, and became one of the first African American girls to receive the National Young Women of Distinction honor. This prestigious honor is given to just 10 Girl Scouts each year, selected from all of the Gold Award recipients in the United States. During her time in college Latoya stayed connected with Girl Scouts and volunteered with local troops. After graduating, she became a troop leader for several years.

In 2015 Latoya joined the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana and now serves as the Director of Community Troop Experience. In this role she fosters meaningful connections and positive change in various communities within the council. After all of these years of Girl Scouting it is safe to say that she truly bleeds green.

Latoya holds a Masters in Organizational Leadership and Change. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated. Latoya is also a dedicated wife and loving mother. Through innovative programming and an unwavering commitment to our Girl Scout mission, Latoya continues to inspire the next generation of leaders to make a lasting impact.

2024 Girl Scout Gold Awardees

Esra Agun

Nest Boxes for Injured

Squirrels

My Gold Award Project addressed the issue of animal rehabilitation to ensure the survival of native animal species. I built nest boxes for the Willowbrook Rehabilitation Center specifically intended for squirrels in need of rehabilitation so that they could be released back into the wild.

Reese Baughman

Neighborhood Little Free Library

My Gold Award Project involved building a little library for my community to use for free. I collected donated books of all different levels and genres and worked directly with the Willowbrook council to place the library in Farmingdale Park. I wanted to share my love of reading with my neighborhood and give everyone a chance to embrace the enjoyment of discovering new books and sharing their favorites with others.

Danika Benziger

Young Naperville Singers Intern Program

My Gold Award Project was born of the desire to create a leadership guide for children’s choir organizations to help promote community and belonging amongst its members. Following the shutdowns of COVID-19, I saw the need for reconnection. I wanted to bridge the leadership gap by creating a guide that could be used specifically for the choir I’ve been a member years but more broadly for any children’s music organizations that seek to create a system of leadership for their older students.

Marina Burke Sjoblom

The Bridge Project

My Gold Award Project aimed to provide extra support to incoming first-year students at my high school, Oak Park and River Forest High School (OPRFHS). I worked with feeder middle schools and the OPRFHS History Department to create a “Bridge Committee” where curriculums were exchanged to expedite students’ transition into History classes. I also designed materials covering school-specific academic supports and study techniques for different types of learners. By providing academic support to current freshman and future OPRFHS students, I hope to help others by increasing the likelihood of success and improving the academic transition experience.

Tanvi Chadalawada

Activity Booklets for Children

They were fun and educational

Emma Costello-Wollwage

Prioritizing Inclusion

My Gold Award Project addresses the lack of an informative and inclusive sexual education curriculum in schools. I created a website with this information and rewrote the sexual education lesson plan regarding LGBTQ+ people, as well as a social media account to track the progress. Then, I presented a slideshow that covered LGBTQ+-related politics and gave resources to a local LGBTQ+ youth club.

Madison Cyranek Club W.E.

My Gold Award Project is a women’s empowerment club I started at my school that aims to empower and improve gender equity in our school and community. The club has supported girls’ events and accomplishments within our school and community and promoted leadership and volunteer opportunities. We host monthly meetings covering various topics, such as different types of feminism, women’s rights issues, and working to solve and help community problems.

Madelyn DeBleyzer

Maddie’s Treasure Box

My Gold Award Project involves the hospital where I am also a patient, Lurie Children’s Hospital. I wanted to give back by having a toy drive at an event in January at my former elementary school. The toy drive was a big success, with over 100 toys and gift cards donated to the children of Lurie Children’s Hospital.

Honor Dold

Vacation Bible School 2022

My Gold Award Project

Nooriyah Doriwala

Girls of Excellence

Mentorship Program with Non-profit MYTT

My Gold Award Project focuses on building confidence, courage, and community for middle school-age girls through a mentorship program. I collaborated with the Chicagobased non-profit MYTT (Mentoring Youth Through Technology) to develop the curriculum, based on academic research and feedback from girls, for engaging activities covering topics from diversity to creative

created a Vacation Bible School curriculum where children are introduced to a new bible story each day. I then applied these teachings to their lives and to help them create a foundation for their relationship with God. I also included daily themes which all of the snacks, games, crafts and activities of the day will be centered around.

Mikenna Doyle

Silver Stories

My Gold Award Project focused on recording and preserving the stories of seniors and veterans in my community. I collected interviews with various seniors and shared them as a podcast series through my YouTube channel and website. The stories were then shared with wider communities to inspire future generations.

Amelia Dunkin

Historic Lemont Walking Tour App

My Gold Award Project was creating a location-aware iOS walking tour app to make the history of Lemont, Illinois, my hometown, more accessible. The app features 31 historic sites spread over three different walking tours. Each tour has an audio component, picture, and description.

2024 Girl Scout Gold Awardees

Ilona Edstrom

Creating a Volunteer Infrastructure at the 61st Street Farmers’ Market

My Gold Award Project was the product of a lifelong involvement with our community’s Farmers’ Market. Applying STEM principles, I created an easy-to-use, sustainable database for the Experimental Station to recruit and maintain a volunteer infrastructure essential to the continued success of this Farmers’ Market. We also identified and implemented some structural improvements to give our community a safe and comfortable space to gather and browse at the market.

Campbell Eggers

Lake Forest Beach Nature Walk

My Gold Award Project aims to bring education and awareness of our environment to our community. I designed and interatcitve nature walk to teach people about indigenous trees and stimulate people’s appreciation for the natural world. These experiences will enhance observation skills. Nature produces countless opportunities for creativity, problem-solving, and STEAM education.

friendly during the holidays and what saving the bees truly means, I was able to reach out to the community and share how we can grow into a green future together.

Stella Fitzpatrick Project Penpal

My Gold Award Project connected the elderly and elementary-aged children in my community. Through the project, children could express creativity, practice writing, and have fun making letters to older adults living in a local nursing home. In return, the residents thoroughly enjoyed receiving the letters and felt more connected to those outside the nursing home.

Larinda Frushour

Pollinator Pals

My Gold Award Project is designed to protect pollinators through habitat restoration and outreach. To combat habitat loss, I partnered with Garden For Wildlife to document and grow native perennial pollinator gardens. I focused on supporting our endangered Monarchs by researching at the Chicago Botanic Garden, distributing milkweed, and hosting my educational booth at the annual Schaumburg Monarch Festival.

Courtney Fitzgerald Eco Info

My Gold Award Project was aimed at people who want to become more eco-conscious but don’t know where to start or just lack knowledge about the environment that surrounds us. By writing excerpts about various topics about the environment, like how to become more eco-

Veronica Hunt

RB Music Department Support

My Gold Award Project aimed to support and enhance the Riverside Brookfield Music Department. I shared my voice at several school board meetings to tell the community the importance of staffing music educators, cleaned and redecorated the practice rooms, and volunteered for a semester to assist in classroom operations in a choir class. As a result of my project, I was able to provide a better educational experience within the music program and Riverside Brookfield High School as a whole.

Brianna Januska

Inspired Today, Inspiring Tomorrow

My Gold Award Project focuses on improving selfesteem. For my project, I created a short story about learning how to overcome challenges, uncover more about oneself, and grow. I then worked to publish this story both online and have it available at local libraries. I also presented my project to local Brownie troops, where I also did a storytime featuring my story.

Aine Kelly

The Richard’s Herald

My Gold Award Project was a digital newspaper that kept students at my school informed and interested in school events. It included four main sections discussing current school events, school sports teams, school art programs, and events promoting cultural celebrations within the school and local community. The newspaper

will continue after I graduate through a club with 11 members.

Katherine Kelly

Special Education Library

My Gold Award Project was to build a library for a special education school. This school had never had a library before, so I created a safe environment for enjoyment through literature, games, and interaction.

Abigail Komperda

Bereavement Blankets to Share Compassion

My Gold Award Project aimed to help grieving individuals and families by teaching the community to crochet bereavement blankets for a local funeral home. In my project, the community and young Girl Scouts came together to learn the commitment and determination it takes to support others while undertaking the skill of crocheting. Both aspects of this project gave participants a skill and perspective that will last a lifetime.

2024 Girl Scout Gold Awardees

Dorothy Lakshmanamurthy

Bringing History Outside

My Gold Award Project allows community members, students, and visitors to learn about the town’s history with my seven trail walk signs since my town’s History Museum is not always open. Along with the signs, I also created a Munster History patch with requirements and a shadow box for a local girl (Tagalong Girl Scout) who passed away from kidney cancer at six years old. I’m excited about the impact this will have on my community for many years to come.

Evyenia Lawley

Educating for Our Future

My Gold Award Project aims to address sustainability and pollution awareness, specifically within the education system. I created a unit within the classroom where students could raise and care for zebrafish. This unique, hands-on opportunity allowed students to learn with real-life fish right in front of them. Also, it benefited students interested in pursuing an animal science field in the future.

Jada Lewis

Mental Health

My Gold Award Project educated and informed young adults, teens, and parents of individuals who may struggle with mental health issues in the form of a podcast. The podcast used my own personal experiences to create a connection with the listener on subjects like peer relationships, home life, and education.

Olivia Lozano

First Responder Honor Garden

My Gold Award Project honored first responders in my community. I designed and constructed an honor garden to recognize the contributions that first responders make every day.

Kiley Mahoney

My Little Libraries

My Gold Award Project addressed the lack of interest in reading for children in the summer and the lack of a library in my area. To help solve these problems, I added two Little Libraries to two different parks in my community, making it more convenient for families to access books, as most people can walk to the locations where I put the Little Libraries.

Kara Majeski

Service vs Emotional Support Animals

My Gold Award Project taught my community the difference between Service Animals and Emotional Support animals. It highlighted the important “rules” that come with seeing a service animal in public, such as not petting them because they are working. Lastly, my project provided sources where people within my community can find information on how to obtain a service or emotional support animal.

Laurel Mason

Mobile Engagement Room for Homeless Children

My Gold Award Project gave homeless Chicago children access to educational toys and therapeutic skills. I teamed up with Revive Center for Housing and Healing to do this. I created three large cabinets that hold the toys and can make a safe, enclosed space for the children while their parents get help at Revive Center for Housing and Healing.

Angela Mathews

Preserving of the Arts

My Gold Award Project involved re-recording and digitizing concert music from the high school library. The music was then entered into a spreadsheet that listed the individual songs by title, composer, and band.

Anna Maurice

Blankets for Project Linus

My Gold Award Project was to partner with the Will County Chapter of Project Linus to make blankets for children who have been abused, lived in abusive situations, or are seriously ill and in a hospital.

Hailey McCoy

Hope for the Homeless

My Gold Award Project built plantar boxes to grow different vegetables and herbs that could be given to the homeless community through a local charity, Eliza’s Angels. In addition, I made a

website that helps educate others about the issue of homelessness and helps them push to do something about it.

Ella Mitchell

Popping the Suburban Reading Bubble: Promoting Diverse Literature to

Teenagers

My Gold Award Project collaborated with the local library to emphasize diverse books for teen library patrons and the broader community. The creation of both physical shelves and online recommendation lists comes in the wake of rampant book bannings around the country, which attempt to limit the availability of diverse books. Combating book banning begins at a local level. As the library is a public avenue of reading for young people and teens, my project implemented and sustained a cognizant approach to curating diverse recommendation lists.

Anna Murphy

Shopping Stylishly and

Sustainably

My Gold Award addressed the negative environmental impact of the fashion industry. I held multiple presentations for my school and local Girl Scout troops, educating people on how to be more sustainable with their purchases. I also held a Thrifting Event that collected and sold clothing items from our community.

2024 Girl Scout Gold Awardees

Marie Nelson

Micro Food Pantry

My Gold Award Project was to provide food for those in need by raising money for the material of a micro pantry, building and placing the pantry, hosting a food drive, supplying the pantry, and announcing the new pantry through social media and friends.

Lillian O’Dea

Shoe By Shoe We Make A Difference

Cae Parkhill

LGBTQ+ Education

My Gold Award Project increased education about LGBTQ topics in my high school. I created detailed presentations about LGBTQ history, people, and concepts related to specific school subjects, such as LGBTQ US History, LGBTQ Poetry and Literature, Transgender Medicine, etc. The presentations were shared with my school’s teachers and posted online for public

My Gold Award Project was a dance shoe donation bin for my local park district dance program (Oak Lawn Park District Infiniti Dance Company). I noticed kids would come in every two weeks complaining of tight-fitting shoes because their parents could not afford to keep up with their ever-growing feet. Now, parents can donate gently used dance shoes and ask for them whenever they need them.

Madeline Painter

The Bookbinders Initiative

My Gold Award Project mobilized high school students who can draw, write, speak a different language, and serve to create bilingual Spanish-English children’s books for grades K-2. We made online resources for these books and printed 400 copies of 12 other stories to share with elementary schoolers.

Emily Marie Pawlak

Matthew Ives Memorial Track Pollinator Garden

My Gold Award Project found me designing, installing, and developing a plan for caring for a pollinator garden at the Matthew Ives Memorial Track at South Middle School in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

Sara Pelini

Storybook Walks

My Gold Award Project consisted of multiple interactive storybook walks that were available at a local park for families. Each walk consisted of a book set up on signs throughout a trail with activities to go along, and it was available for a few weeks at a time.

Sarah Pozdal

Monarchs in Mokena

My Gold Award Project helped increase the population of monarch butterflies in my town by supplying several businesses with Butterfly Boxes. Milkweed was planted in the boxes to attract Monarch Butterflies, which will help with pollination and increase the area’s biodiversity.

Elise Raffiani

SAT Initiative

My Gold Award Project helps students get the SAT scores they want by offering study methods and tips on how to approach the test. The initiative was incorporated into the high school as a class.

Kameryn Rasberry

learn about flag care, flag code, flag folding, and flag retiring. I then held a ceremony open to the public where we retired flags that I had collected in a flag drive.

Kathryn Riesing

Creating Math Videos for Students

My Gold Award Project included making geometry videos for students struggling with the subject. My videos include examples, vocabulary and basic explanations of the concepts.

Tools and Techniques for Balanced Mental Wellness

My Gold Award Project involved creating a website to support teenagers in enhancing their mental wellness through physical exercise, healthy eating, and coping mechanisms. The platform provides valuable tools and techniques to empower teens to achieve and maintain mental well-being. The project focuses on promoting a holistic approach to mental health for adolescents.

Leah Ribordy

Flag Care Education

My Gold Award Project focused on the lack of knowledge of flag care that America has overall as a country. I taught a class for younger girls to

Sofi Lynn Rodriguez

Chicagoland Community Fridges

My Gold Award Project consisted of contributing to and building up a network of Community Fridges in the area around my city. A community fridge is a refrigerator accessible to the public that operates on the ideology of “take what you need, leave what you can,” so it helps people have access to healthy foods and be able to share excess food, so it doesn’t go to waste. A major part of my project was making information easily accessible, so people can be informed about community fridges and how to locate them.

Jamyriah Scott

Welcoming City

My Gold Award Project focused on welcoming asylum seekers within my community. Due to the rising health concerns in local shelters in my community I provided families with hygiene survival kits as a way to say welcome to our community.

2024 Girl Scout Gold Awardees

Breana Smith

Golden Mini Library

My Gold Award Project was designed with the mission to foster a love of reading in people of all ages in mind. In order to accomplish this the Golden Mini Library provides free, easily accessible books that come in a variety of genres.

Alysa Solomon

Animal Conservation Video Game

My Gold Award Project

Olivia Tacik

Art for Change

My Gold Award Project is a platform in which artists can share art

Vidhi Soni

Cystic Fibrosis

My Gold Award Project focused on raising awareness about Cystic Fibrosis, a lesser-known disease. I conducted informative presentations for various school clubs and contributed care packages to Lutheran General Hospital to support pediatric CF patients. This initiative aimed to improve understanding and aid for individuals affected by the condition.

Sophia Wall

GEZI – A Website Built for the Parents of Children with Disabilities

My Gold Award Project is a website for parents in the Chicago area to find definitions and professional help for their children with disabilities.

Hannah Kaitlin Weiss

Lending Little Free Library

My Gold Award Project aims to provide the church a local outside solution for sharing books and information for those within the community. Located outside the church near the preschool entrance and near the community playground. The library provides not only literacy materials for young children but also includes advertisements for the youth ministry held at the church, upcoming events at the church, and more!

Gold Awards Scholarships

Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana thanks the generous donors who support our council’s Gold Award Scholarship fund. In the fifth year of this scholarship fund, ten Gold Award Girl Scouts received a total of $28,000 in college scholarships in honor of their commitment to making the world a better place.

2024 Gold Award Scholarship Recipients

Emma Costello-Wollwage

Sydney Kirages

Abigail Komperda

Dorothy Lakshmanamurthy

Naomi Licata

Kara Majeski

Ella Mitchell

Kameryn Rasberry

Jamyriah Scott

Vidhi Soni

Gold Awards Committee

Thank you to our committee members who support Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors through the process of earning the Girl Scout Gold Award.

Jane Clark

Committee Chair

Jessica Roberson

Binder Coordinator

Yaqoota Aziz

Charlene Getz

Annie Gilmartin

Julie Gilmartin

Faith Harper

Shelley Hendrickson

Juliann Krupa

Abigail Leveille

Claire Mangan

Kelli Mason

Kaycee Mendoza

Vanessa Valdez

Megan Wright

Katie Zabielski

Board of Directors

Officers

Sidney Dillard

President Partner & Head of Corporate Investment Banking

Loop Capital Markets

Jackie Barlow

1st Vice President President, US Commercial Real Estate

CIBC, US

Ami McReynolds 2nd Vice President Chief Equity Officer

Feeding America

Victoria Tate Treasurer

Director, Technical Accounting Compliance, Global Finance Mondelēz International

Shannon Fuller Secretary

VP of Talent Solutions Health Care Service Corporation

Ex-Officio Member

Nancy L. Wright

Ex-Officio Member/CEO

Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana

Members

Jill Ahern

Sr. Vice President, Corporate Strategy

HAVI

Duke Alden

VP, Technology & Operations Alight Solutions

Danielle Austen

Managing Partner & CEO fluent360

Susan Beverly Director and Head of Worldwide Transparency, Partnerships and Engagement

Amazon

Theresa Boland Partner KPMG

Valarie Bomar Vice President & Deputy General Counsel NiSource

Jillian Burstein Partner Reed Smith, LLC

Sarah Cigrang Vice President, Human Resources Griffith Foods

Christine Concari

Paul Gariepy Partner Principal Ernst & Young

Anna Gomez

Global Chief Financial Officer and Partner Mischief USA and No Fixed Address

Robin Goolsbee

Managing Director Diversified Search Group

Janet Hulet President Navigating Brilliance, Inc.

Lara Liss Chief Privacy and Data Trust Officer GE Healthcare

Annette Martinez Director of External Communications and Outreach Strategy Argonne National Laboratory

Carla Michelotti President Carla Michelotti LLC

Jennifer M. Mikulina Partner

McDermott Will & Emery LLP

Michelle Minon

Managing Director and Trust Market

Executive

Bank of America Merrill Lynch

April Morgan

Chief of Staff to the Chairman Chicago Transit Authority

Carol Murphy

Executive Vice President and Casualty Leader HUB International

Chelsie Nelson

Director, Transaction Advisory Kroll

Patricia Palaez

Principal Charles River Associates

Kimberly R. Reome Central Region Lead Partner The Kenrich Group, LLC

Kathy Scherer

Chicago Office Managing Partner Deloitte Tax LLP

Hille Sheppard Partner

Sidley Austin LLP

Kyle Stokien

Managing Director-Executive Financial Management

Goldman Sachs

Monica M. Weed

President

Monica Weed Consulting

Missy Wyatt

Senior Vice President of Sales

Talking Rain Beverage Company

Sheryl L. Yasger

Girl Representatives to the Board

Aaliya B.

Alyssa M.

Chelsie L.

Libby B. Mahak R. Rehana A.

Zoe H.

Girl Scouts