Meet Our Executive Team
Along with the CEO, GSUSA's Executive 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.
Bonnie Barczykowski
Chief Executive Officer
Bonnie Barczykowski joined Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) in 2023 as chief executive officer. She is committed to ensuring that every girl has an opportunity to join Girl Scouts, make their voices heard, and develop the skills they need to lead—today and into the future.
Bonnie is honored to lead an organization to which she is so deeply devoted, having previously spent more than ten years as chief executive officer of Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri. During that time, she built a compelling strategic vision that successfully expanded access for girls across the region, transformed program experiences, engaged communities, and led a $50 million comprehensive fundraising campaign.
Bonnie has been a champion for girls and women throughout her career
in both the private and nonprofit sectors, including a decade leading
one of the largest chains of fitness centers for women in the world.
She received both her BA and MBA from Lindenwood University.
Wendy Lou
Chief Revenue Officer
Wendy Lou joined GSUSA in 2019 as the deputy chief revenue officer and became the chief revenue officer in 2021. In this role, she oversees the organization’s membership strategy, the Girl Scout Cookie Program, Girl Scout Merchandise, and licensing.
Wendy spent 13 years at Macy’s in various leadership positions across strategy, merchandising/planning, and ecommerce. In her years with the company, she led the transformation of pricing and promotional strategies; developed a road map for the company’s long-term value proposition; and led several businesses, including apparel, home, and food and confections. Prior to Macy’s, Wendy was an investment banker at Citigroup.
Wendy holds a BS from NYU Stern School of Business and an MBA from Columbia Business School. She is a Girl Scout alum, a lifetime member, and a troop cookie manager.
Sharon Naya
Chief Strategy Officer
Sharon Naya joined GSUSA in 2023 as chief strategy officer. In this role, she oversees Movement-wide strategic business planning and executes portfolio-wide programs to deliver upon GSUSA’s goals. She also oversees enterprise risk management, property strategy, and analytics and insights, which includes research, analytics, and enterprise data management.
Sharon has over 20 years of experience leading strategy, business transformation, and operational excellence teams. Previously, she served as senior vice president, head of commercial change strategy for TD Bank, where she led multiple large-scale initiatives to transform the commercial bank. During her tenure at TD, she also designed and implemented new operating models to improve customer experience, while also paving the way for enhanced revenue growth.
She holds a BA from Cornell University and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. She is a PROSCI-certified change manager, a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, and an accredited customer experience master.
Alexandra Traber McNamara
Chief Corporate Affairs and
Communications Officer
Alexandra Traber McNamara joined GSUSA in 2023 as chief corporate affairs and communications officer. In this role, she is responsible for driving growth and relevance by overseeing and developing the organization’s external and internal communications strategy, media relations, cultural assets, and government affairs.
Alexandra brings deep public and private sector experience from her time at the Estée Lauder Companies, the Brunswick Group, and the White House. Alexandra has vast expertise in developing and implementing strategic and integrated global initiatives that advance reputation, drive culture, and increase engagement with a multitude of stakeholders.
She holds a BS from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and an MS from The London School of Economics.
Rebeca Vargas
Chief Marketing Officer
Rebeca Vargas joined GSUSA in 2024 as chief marketing officer. In this role, she is the steward of the Girl Scout brand, leading the work to build awareness about the life-changing value of the Girl Scout experience. She is also transforming the marketing function to contribute to the growth of the organization with acquisition and retention campaigns.
Prior to joining GSUSA, Rebeca was a marketing executive for more than fifteen years, directing marketing teams at Citibank, Wells Fargo, and J.P. Morgan Chase in the U.S. and Latin America. Rebeca is regarded as a pioneer in multicultural marketing, achieving record-breaking success in attracting diverse consumer segments. She was previously CEO of two binational nonprofit organizations, US-Mexico Foundation and Mujeres Lideres En STEAM. She is a trailblazer in social entrepreneurship, having led successful fundraising campaigns and developed unique programs focused on youth leadership development, women empowerment, and STEAM education.
Rebeca holds a BA in accounting and finance from ITAM in Mexico, an MBA from Tulane University, and completed executive education on digital marketing and board readiness at Columbia University and Harvard Business School, respectively. Rebeca was a troop volunteer when her daughter was a Girl Scout.
Meridith Maskara
Chief Development Officer
Meridith Maskara joined GSUSA as chief development officer in 2024. In this role, she draws upon her years of Girl Scout leadership experience to strengthen the organization’s capacity to create equitable opportunities for every girl to feel empowered to lead in their community, the workplace, and the world.
Prior to joining GSUSA, Meridith was chief executive officer of Girl Scouts of Greater New York, where she led her council to exponentially grow their membership and created a culture of philanthropy, catapulting their fund development to achieve record-breaking success. She also oversaw the launch of Troop 6000, a Girl Scout troop that has gone on to serve more than 5,000 women and girls in 30 shelters across New York City. Meridith was previously vice president of product programs and chief operating officer for the council. Before joining Girl Scouts, she spent 17 years as vice president of Max Merchandising, a leading licensing and branding theatrical company.
Meridith graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in
New York City. As a third generation Girl Scout, a troop leader for
over ten years, a Gold Award Girl Scout, and a mother of five Girl
Scouts, Meridith has seen firsthand the life-changing opportunities
that come from investing in Girl Scouts.
Sydna Kelley
Chief Technology Officer
Sydna Kelley joined GSUSA in 2023 as chief technology officer. In this role, she develops and executes our strategic technology road map and generates innovative technology solutions to ensure our products and infrastructure enable us to drive the impact our Movement deserves.
Sydna served as chief information officer at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Animal Health Division; Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Fort Dodge Animal Health; chief information officer at Ascend Learning; and chief information officer, head of operations, and chief services officer at Alert Logic, a cybersecurity innovator. She was recognized by Cyber Defense Media Group as one of the Top Women in Cyber Security.
Sydna earned her BS in computer science and business administration at Cedar Crest College.
Ken DiStefano Jr.
Chief Financial Officer
Ken DiStefano Jr. joined GSUSA in 2019 as deputy chief financial officer. He became interim chief financial officer in 2023 and GSUSA's chief financial officer in 2024. In this role, he oversees the organization’s financial operations in the areas of accounting/controlling, financial planning and analysis, treasury, and audit and risk management.
As a finance executive with nearly 30 years of experience, Ken has led high performing finance teams in a variety of industries, including professional services, banking, and consumer packaged goods. Prior to joining GSUSA, Ken served as global chief financial officer, shared services, for Mars Inc., where he led a $600M global services portfolio. Previously, Ken served as IT chief financial officer and controller for Brown Brothers Harriman & Company in addition to a 16-year tenure with Ernst & Young in various corporate finance roles.
Ken holds a BS in political science from Old Dominion University and an MBA in finance from Rutgers Graduate School of Business.
Marianne Gattinella
Chief People Officer
Marianne Gattinella joined GSUSA in 2024. As chief people officer, she brings a wide range of expertise to the organization, including leadership development, change management, talent management, and organizational transformation.
Marianne was most recently an expert consultant at Inspire Human Resources. Previously, she was senior vice president, HR at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, where she led the Human Resources function. The majority of her career was in financial services; in her last role as vice president, HR, at S&P Global, she had responsibility for delivering strategic human resources plans to the global enterprise functions and led the Employee Relations Center of Expertise. Marianne has also held various business partner roles at New York Life International (NYLI), Lehman Brothers, Citibank, and The Travelers.
Marianne has a BS in management from the University of Rhode Island, an MBA from the University of Hartford, and is an active member in several human resources professional organizations.
Diana Beinart
General Counsel
Diana Beinart joined GSUSA in 2023 as general counsel. In this role, she oversees all legal matters for the organization as well as GSUSA’s Office of the National Board.
Prior to joining GSUSA, Diana served as the general counsel and deputy commissioner at the New York City Department of Finance, where she was responsible for providing legal advice and counsel to the department. She previously worked at the White House as special assistant to the President. Prior to that, she was a trial attorney in the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. She began her legal career at Williams & Connolly LLP and Caplin & Drysdale LLP.
Diana holds a BA from the University of Maryland and a JD from the Columbia University School of Law. She is a certified public accountant and holds bar admissions in New York and the District of Columbia. Diana comes from a family of Girl Scouts—her mother was a troop leader, and Diana, her sister, niece, and daughter are all current Girl Scouts/alums.
Tiffany Washington
Vice President, Diversity,
Equity, Inclusion, and Racial Justice
Tiffany Washington joined GSUSA in 2022 as vice president of diversity, equity, inclusion, and racial justice (DEIRJ). In this role, she serves as a strategic partner to Movement leaders and is responsible for advancing DEIRJ principles across the organization using a change management and outcome-driven approach.
Tiffany came to GSUSA from Girl Scouts of Nassau County, where she served as chief strategy officer. Prior to her Girl Scout career, she worked at Sesame Workshop as the director of global project finance and business planning, where she championed children across the globe to become smarter, stronger, and kinder by addressing critical issues around well-being. Tiffany also drove social impact at DTE Energy, where she worked to redesign their corporate social responsibility strategy and led her team in redesigning the foundation’s giving priorities pertaining to systemic issues faced by historically underrepresented communities. She also developed an organizational DEI framework designed to integrate, measure, and align the impact of the company’s social responsibility efforts to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development goals.
Six Sigma trained and a certified diversity professional™, Tiffany holds a BA from Columbia University and an MBA from Cornell University’s Johnson School of Business.
Susan Swanson
Senior Vice President, Council Partnerships
Susan Swanson joined GSUSA in 2007 as vice president of membership and volunteerism. She then went on to serve as vice president of network alignment. In 2022, she became senior vice president of the council partnership office. In this role, she oversees the important relationship between the national organization and council leaders.
Prior to joining GSUSA, Susan was the chief operations officer for Girl Scouts of Freedom Valley for 11 years, where she led membership recruitment, customer support, programming, and other ventures. She previously served as vice president at Junior Achievement of Greater Boston, where she was responsible for school and corporate partnerships throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Her professional career began in the for-profit sector as district manager of BFGoodrich’s headquarters in Akron, Ohio, and subsequently served larger territories in Pennsylvania and Washington, DC.
Susan has a BA in political science from the University of the South and has completed Case Western Reserve University’s Nonprofit Executive Leadership and Cornell University’s Marketing for Business Leaders programs.
Sarah Keating
Vice President, Girl Experience and
Program Delivery
Sarah Keating joined GSUSA in 2018 as a senior brand manager. She became vice president of girl experience and program delivery in 2020. In this role, she leads the strategic vision for how Girl Scout programming can achieve our mission of building girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.
Prior to her role at GSUSA, Sarah worked as an award-winning developer of interactive, out-of-school education programs for a variety of non-profit organizations as well as for Scholastic, Playmada Games, and the Walt Disney Company. She also founded Beach Bag Books & Music, an independent bookstore and experiential learning space for kids and teens on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Sarah holds an M.Ed. in earth science education from Penn State University. A proud Silver Award Girl Scout, Sarah is the leader of a Senior Girl Scout troop.
