Meet Our Senior Leadership Team

Along with the CEO, GSUSA's Senior Leadership Team guides the organization in the planning, development, and execution of initiatives and resources to benefit a diverse group of girls, volunteers, and staff across the nation—and the world.

Kathy Cloninger
Chief Executive Officer
Girl Scouts of the USA

Kathy Cloninger is the Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA), the premier leadership development organization for girls. She is a recognized expert on, and advocate for, girls' and women's issues, leading the organization to fulfill a more comprehensive mission: Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.

Cloninger's 23 years in Girl Scouting include service as a CEO with Girl Scout councils in Tennessee, Texas and Colorado; as national management consultant for GSUSA; and as a participant with groundbreaking task groups strategizing on girls' well-being. She was an executive grant-maker at the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, CEO of two YWCA branches in Texas, and a career development consultant.

Cloninger serves on the national boards of American Humanics and the National Assembly of Human Services, and on advisory boards for America's Promise, See Jane, and the National Association of Corporate Boards. She is a founder of Tennessee's Association of Nonprofit Executives and has received numerous awards. Most recently in 2007, Cloninger was honored by the National Human Services Assembly with the Award for Excellence in National Executive Leadership and was named one of the "50 Most Powerful and Influential People in Nonprofits" by the NonProfit Times. In 2000, she was chosen Nonprofit CEO of the Year from the Center for Nonprofit Management and presented with the NCCJ Human Relations Award.

A native of Dallas, Texas, Cloninger got her start as a Girl Scout in her mother's troop. She earned an M.S. in counseling and business management from East Texas State University. She and her husband, Michael, favor country music, and have hosted nearly 350 world-class songwriter concerts at their homes in Nashville and New York.

Florence Corsello
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Business Services
Girl Scouts of the USA

"I believe we are given an opportunity to work hard at work worth doing."

As Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, Business Services, Florence Corsello is responsible for GSUSA's business and financial operations including Girl Scout Merchandise sales and operations, GSUSA Finance, Information and Technology, and National Properties. She also oversees financial consulting services to local Girl Scout councils and operations at the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace in Savannah, Ga.

Corsello has more than 30 years of financial and business management experience.

Previously, Corsello, a certified public accountant, was employed by Haskins and Sells Certified Public Accountants (now Deloitte & Touche). She is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Corsello earned a bachelor of science, magna cum laude, from Brooklyn College and now lives in Park Ridge, N.J.

Delphia York Duckens
Senior Vice President, Fund Development
Girl Scouts of the USA

"Every girl needs the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, because every girl is 'at risk' regardless of her socioeconomic status."

With 20 years of experience in the fund development field, Delphia York Duckens serves as the organization's chief authority on fundraising and philanthropy initiatives.

Prior to joining Girl Scouts, Duckens was assistant director for major gifts and planned giving at Texas Children's Hospital, where she obtained the first $1 million individual gift in the hospital's history. For seven years, she was an adjunct professor and assistant dean at Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Texas Southern University.

Earlier in her career, Duckens was vice president of brand management and fund development with the Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council, in Houston, Texas, where she established the first planned giving program in the council's 84-year history. In addition, Duckens spearheaded the council's first and largest community-wide $11.3 million capital and endowment campaign.

Duckens is a member of the State Bar of Texas, a State Bar Fellow, and served on the board of the Houston Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. She has taught many seminars on ethics in fundraising for the certification process. Currently, she is on the board of trustees for Huston-Tillotson University, in Austin, Texas.

A graduate of Huston-Tillotson University with a bachelor of arts in political science, Duckens also received a juris doctor from the University of Denver. She currently resides in New York, and is the proud mother of two adult children.

Jaclyn E. Libowitz
Chief of Staff
Girl Scouts of the USA

"My longevity in Girl Scouting is based on my unwavering belief in and support of the power, the voice, and the potential of girls. We can read and talk about leadership, but when we listen to the girls and young women of the Girl Scout Movement, we get to see leadership and know it firsthand."

Jaclyn E. Libowitz, Chief of Staff for Girl Scouts of the USA, works closely with the Movement's Chief Executive Officer, and on her behalf, provides leadership, direction, and coordination of resources needed to accomplish GSUSA's mission. She develops and implements plans across the organization in support of the strategic goals.

Libowitz brings a wealth of experience to her role, including her former position as CEO of a Girl Scout council. As a Senior Director at Girl Scouts of the USA, she provided leadership to the council management consultants and spearheaded the development, implementation, and evaluation of a diversity of resources, with a special focus on team building, cultural competency, strategic planning, organizational gap analysis, and community building.

Recognized for her expertise as a management consultant, executive coach, and speaker, Libowitz has worked with clients including Coca-Cola Enterprises, Greater Cleveland Roundtable, Memphis Diversity Institute, University of New Mexico, and Charter One Bank. She has facilitated numerous group sessions focused on personal development with Fortune 100 executives for Schachat and Associates.

Deborah Long
Senior Vice President, Governance and Corporate Administration
Girl Scouts of the USA

"I am passionate about the mission and purpose of Girl Scouting, which provides a meaningful leadership experience to girls of all ages, backgrounds, and walks of life. Girl Scouting helps girls find their voice, affirms who they are, and allows them to have new experiences. It prepares girls to live in an increasingly diverse environment where they use their confidence, courage, and character to make the world a better place."

As Senior Vice President, Governance and Corporate Administration, Deborah Long provides the vision, leadership, and direction for the work of Girl Scouts of the USA's Governance and Corporate Administration division, which is composed of the Office of the National Board of Directors, the National Historic Preservation Center, National Meetings, the Information and Referral Center, and Council Governance, by aligning them with the organization's mission, core business strategy, and plan of work.

Long has more than 28 years of professional expertise in nonprofit management, including an extensive background in board governance and board development.

As Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Genesee Valley, in Rochester, N.Y., Long served a membership of more than 17,000. Under her leadership, the council increased girl and adult membership and achieved national recognition for its success in outcomes research and diversity efforts. The council was awarded the GSUSA Quality Recognition Award in 1997 for Shared Leadership and Influence. She has also held numerous volunteer leadership positions with nonprofit organizations in the mental health, healthcare, and grassroots community development sectors.

Long earned a bachelor of arts in sociology and American history and a master of science in community services from the University of Rochester. She has been married for 31 years and has an adult son.

Laurel J. Richie
Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
Girl Scouts of the USA

"I have great passion for the mission of building girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place, and I am committed to giving every girl the opportunity to benefit from the leadership experience that is so unique to the Girl Scout Movement."

Laurel J. Richie is responsible for Girl Scouts of the USA's brand, communications, publishing, marketing, and Web-based initiatives.

With a key role in the launch of GSUSA's new core business strategy, Richie is also helping to ensure that a comprehensive media and communications strategy is in place to support the organization's strategic priorities.

Previously, Richie held the position of senior partner, executive group director, at Ogilvy & Mather, where she worked on a long series of noteworthy campaigns for clients including Campbell Soup, American Express, Chesebrough-Pond's, Oscar Mayer, Maidenform, Pepperidge Farm, Springs Industries, and the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. Working in partnership with Kimberly-Clark, she played a key role in building Huggies into a leading global brand and helped transform Kotex into a more modern brand for today's young women. She sat on Ogilvy New York's Operating Board and was a founding member of the agency's Employee Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusion.

Richie's pro-bono clients included the Museum for African Art, the Hospital for Special Surgery, and the New York Human Rights Commission. In addition, she has mentored young women and girls as part of Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the 4A's Multicultural Advertising Intern Program, Xavier University's Youth Motivation Task Force, and the Advertising Educational Foundation. A graduate of Dartmouth College, Richie is a recipient of the YMCA's Black Achiever's Award and Ebony magazine's Outstanding Women in Marketing and Communications.

Michael Watson
Senior Vice President, Human Resources
Girl Scouts of the USA

"We cannot remain competitive as a nation or solve the country's most challenging problems without tapping the full potential of girls and young women from every segment of our society. I joined Girl Scouts because we embrace diversity and help girls from every background become this country's future workforce and tomorrow's leaders."

Michael Watson, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, directs the development and implementation of strategies, policies, and programs in the areas of staffing, employee retention, workforce planning, diversity, compensation and benefits, organizational development, employee relations, and succession planning for Girl Scouts of the USA.

Prior to joining Girl Scouts in 1999, Watson was a human resources partner for IBM Global Services, where he served as the senior human resources strategist for two businesses with combined revenues of more than $2 billion. Other positions he has held include manager-corporate human resources for Time Warner Inc. and manager-staffing and cultural diversity for GE Capital's 7,500-employee Retailer Financial Services business. He was awarded GE Capital's Pinnacle Club for top performance. Before joining GE's Human Resources Management Program, Watson worked as an IBM marketing representative and received an IBM Golden Circle Award for ranking among the top performers in sales for the year.

In 1997, Watson took a one-year self-financed sabbatical. He spent part of that year as a volunteer at two public elementary schools in New Brunswick, N.J. He has been a business coordinator and volunteer for INROADS and an Association of Yale Alumni delegate, and is a graduate of Leadership Jacksonville and Leadership Canton. Watson is a lifetime member of Girl Scouts of the USA and the National Black MBA Association.

Watson is chair of the National Assembly's Human Resources Council, an association of senior human resources professionals from the nation's leading national nonprofits in the fields of health, human and community development, and human services. He is also treasurer of the Nonprofit Sector Workforce Coalition's board of directors. Composed of nonprofit organizations, associations, foundations and academic centers, the coalition focuses on identifying and addressing issues facing the nonprofit sector workforce.

Watson has a bachelor of arts in economics from Yale University and a master of science in organizational management and human resource development from Manhattanville College. A native of New Brunswick, N.J., he now resides in Stamford, Conn.

Laurie A. Westley
Senior Vice President, Public Policy, Advocacy & the Research Institute
Girl Scouts of the USA

"As a committed advocate for girls and young women across the nation, I am immensely proud to work for an organization where building leadership skills in girls is at the heart of our mission. Our girls are leaders who make the world better for all girls, now and in the future."

Laurie Westley joined Girl Scouts of the USA in October 2000 as its first National Director, Government Relations & Advocacy. A lawyer by training, Westley is a strategic thinker with a specialty in practical, creative, and comprehensive solutions. She is responsible for developing Girl Scouts as the nationwide thought leader and voice for and of girls.

Previously, Westley served as senior vice president for national policy at Voyager Expanded Learning, where she developed a strategic direction for federal and state policy initiatives and corporate-partnership activities with the Smithsonian Institution, NASA, and the Discovery Channel. As assistant executive director and, previously, as chief legislative counsel in the Office of Advocacy at the National School Boards Association, she was responsible for all legislative and regulatory affairs and created the association's grassroots operations. Westley also gained extensive experience on Capitol Hill as chief counsel and staff director on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for Senator Paul Simon, and as assistant counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Postsecondary Education Subcommittee of the Education and Labor Committee.

Westley's background includes experience in two national presidential election campaigns: from 1987 to 1989, she was the assistant director, Election '88, for the National League of Cities, and, in 1983, she served as national deputy director for political organizing on Gary Hart's first presidential campaign. She was also the director of political analysis and national programs at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and, from 1982 to 1983, director of political and legislative programs for the National Women's Political Caucus.

Westley is an adjunct professor at American University, is on the board of directors for Girls! Balance the Equation, was on the board of directors of the LEADER Foundation, and has served as vice president of the Committee for Education Funding (CEF), a coalition of nearly 100 educational associations. She received an Award of Excellence from the American Society of Association Executives in 1996 and was chosen as one of 50 "Rising Stars" by Campaigns and Elections magazine in 1988.

Westley received her bachelor of arts from Antioch College and her juris doctor from Antioch School of Law.