Beyond Thin Mints
Marisa Williams, CEO of Girl Scouts River Valleys, says the day she walks into a room without being asked if she brought any Thin Mints is the day she’ll consider her work a success.
“We’ve got to move past cookies,” says Williams, who worked in nonprofit and corporate roles, primarily in Pittsburgh, before moving to the Twin Cities in January 2023 to lead the Girl Scouts program for Minnesota and western Wisconsin. “The cookie is no less important; we just have to get beyond it.”
Most packaged food brands would kill for the sort of market traction Girl Scout Cookies enjoy, selling an estimated 200 million boxes annually—in just four months.
But Williams believes the estimated $800 million cookie business overwhelms an even larger opportunity for the organization, which is to help young women prepare for college and career.
Girls typically quit their Scout troop at age 12, and Williams wants to give them more reasons to stay, like access to internships and leadership training.
Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott sees the potential. In late 2022, she donated $84.5 million to Girl Scouts of the USA and 29 branches, including $4 million to River Valleys. The local branch used the funds to create the Girl Scout Leadership Institute, a leadership program for girls in grades 8-12 that is not limited to current Scouts.
The six-part program launches in October and runs through the school year, with cohorts in Brooklyn Center and West St. Paul. The curriculum includes financial literacy education, resume and scholarship writing, and discussions about self-care. Another key component: visits to local companies and mentorship connections.
Williams is particularly focused on eliminating barriers for young women who might not have access on their own to crucial career development tools.
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“By transitioning our focus from cookies, camps, and crafts to a broader vision of cultivating future leaders, we can emphasize the skill-building competencies and values that Girl Scouts provides,” Williams says.
To the companies that think supporting Girl Scouts means placing a cookie order every year, Williams is talking to CEOs about the institute as the new approach to getting involved.
“It’s time to elevate our narrative,” says Williams. “We want to highlight Girl Scouts as a vital talent pipeline for Minnesota and beyond.”
