Meet the Champions
Spotlight on Our Own: Jan Hann

National Operational Volunteer of the Girl Scouts of the USA

Jan Hann joined Girl Scouts as a Brownie and has been a proud member ever since. As an adult, she has been a Girl Scout leader, a council staff member and a member of the national staff. "There is not a day that goes by that I don’t apply something that I learned over the many years and experiences," she says. "It’s not about repeating things – it’s about having the confidence to deal with all kinds of situations."

As an National Operational Volunteer, or NOV, Hann has most recently been involved with the Realignment Team, first facilitating mapping discussions between councils and now working directly with Council Realignment Committees (CRCs). The work varies depending on the needs of each CRC. "It might be to help the CRC organize its work or to bring to the group what I have learned from working on realignment initiatives in other nonprofits, or to provide advice in specific areas of nonprofit management or to think out loud with the CRC chairs," she says. Since Hann is not a member of any council represented, she can also facilitate meetings and ensure that all CRC members participate fully.

'The work ahead of us is not a spectator sport but rather a chance to reinvent ourselves and ensure that we will always be the leading organization serving girls.'

Hann first became a National Operational Volunteer after working as a GSUSA Management Consultant with the Chicago Field Center. "Thinking back, the story starts while I was a Management Consultant," she recalls. "Frances Hesselbein, Virginia O’Rourke, and Mary Rose Main had a vision for a cadre of volunteers to train Council Boards of Directors, and I was privileged to work with the team that created and trained that cadre." The success of that cadre opened the door to many other operational volunteer roles for Hann.

She went on to be an NOV in the training department, on the team that “certified” the trainers of trainers following a practicum period. "That brought full circle the work that I done as a staff member on the certification design team," she says. "From my first NOV assignment, 'make new friends but keep the old' comes to mind. I was privileged to have as a colleague on that team Jody Bankoff, one of my mentors in the organization, and my learning continued."

Hann went on to do board and nominating committee training. She also facilitated strategic planning retreats. "In the early days of my NOV experience, we were an extension of the national staff in that NOVs were assigned to do specific assignments in the field…you might have identified the NOV as a pair of helping hands. I believe that we are now an integrated team — learning, working and carrying out the work together."

Over the last year, Hann has been part of a team of NOVs with realignment experience at other nonprofits. "Together we have worked with national staff and volunteer leaders to design the resources supporting the realignment process.  We are now professional partners and will work with groups of councils throughout the process.  I find this much more rewarding than the in-and-out helping hands work," she says.

As for the bigger picture of the Girl Scouts' Core Business Strategy, Hann sees two major reasons why all members must commit ourselves to implementing it:

"First, the girls or a girl.  Last week Olivia Jean came into our family. In five years, Olivia Jean will be of an age to join the Girl Scouts. ... I don’t know what the future holds for her but I do know that I want her to learn to be the best she can be, to make new friends, to give back to her world in ways I am not sure I can even imagine. (I do know that learning to defrost a refrigerator as I did for a proficiency badge will not be useful.)  If we think about girls we know — and girls who we could know — it seems apparent that we must define and carry out our Core Business Strategy with efficiency and efficacy. 

"Secondly, there’s the invitation to take an active role in creating and implementing transformative change. Organizations change continuously whether planned or unplanned, managed or unmanaged. Every one of us has been invited to come together to design new and exciting Girl Scout councils. The work ahead of us is not a spectator sport but rather a chance to reinvent ourselves and ensure that we will always be the leading organization serving girls.

"We must also see ourselves as stewards of resources — the resources of communities across the country. Community resources are not unlimited.  The Core Business Strategy focuses our resources and the work to be done. With careful planning and implementation, the strategic restructuring respects community resources and ensures that Girl Scouting will be stronger for years to come."

What are the most important things Girls Scouts must strive to gain from the Core Business Strategy? For Hann, they are "trust and respect." "We must take the time to develop trust and respect with new partners," she says. "Each of us must participate fully and candidly. We must listen to understand each other and make a commitment to do what we say we will (frequently in very new ways). This will surely ensure that we will have trust and respect in the Girl Scout organization — in each council, among councils, and as a national organization."

THANK YOU, JAN, FOR BEING A LEADER AND INSPIRATION TO THE REST OF US!

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