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BOD Spotlight: Sarah Linden-Brooks
Girl Scout Gold Award alum Sarah Linden-Brooks has never put Girl Scouting on pause. She has always held the organization near and dear to her heart and has immersed herself into the Movement as a GSCCC Board Member over the past few years. She serves as the Chair of the Philanthropy Committee and is very active in promoting the 2026 Capital Campaign to support camps, Aspire to Inspire. The launch of that campaign, held recently at the Williamsburg Winery, brought in gifts totaling $30,000.
As an alum and board member, she feels deeply about supporting Girl Scouts and ensuring girls today have opportunities to grow in courage, confidence, and character. She knows from experience, that to make that happen it takes adults to step up as volunteers and donors to choose Girl Scouts as one of their causes. She also knows that there is never enough promotion of Girl Scouts to connect people to the Movement.
“When people think of Girl Scouts, they usually think about Girl Scout Cookies,” she said. “There’s so much more to Girl Scouts! While the Cookie Program is a wonderful program that affords girls the opportunity to gain financial, entrepreneurship, and other skills, there are other benefits and values that come with the Girl Scouting experience.”
Sarah elegantly wrote about the many benefits from an alum perspective in a recently published column that ran in The Virginian Pilot and Daily Press. As one who was moved by the legacy left by two Girl Scouts who recently passed, Dolly Parton and Gloria Steinem, she paid tribute to these icons to also honor the role Girl Scouts had on and in their lives.
In her column, Sarah shared:
“Both Parton and Steinem embodied the Girl Scout mission ‘to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place’ in all that they did. Though they traveled different paths in their advocacy, both inspired generations of girls and women to dream bigger. And — notably — both are ‘famous formers.’ One, Steinem, having worn the Girl Scout uniform in her youth and earned the contemporary equivalent of the Gold Award; the other, Parton, having become a champion of the movement and lifetime member in adulthood.
And yet, while Americans frequently uplift successful women and recognize the importance of women’s voices, our systems don’t always reflect that same commitment. We celebrate icons such as Parton and Steinem, but invest far less in the organizations that help girls grow into women like them. Research from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy shows that just 2% of charitable giving in the United States supports organizations dedicated to serving women and girls. This includes organizations such as Girl Scouts; domestic violence services, which disproportionately serve women; and reproductive health organizations.
Only 2 cents out of every dollar, despite women and girls comprising 51% of the population.
If we want to build the next generation of empowered women, the best place to start is today’s girls. GSUSA’s Girl Scout Research Institute reports that girl‑only environments help girls build stronger peer relationships, collaborate more effectively and develop empathy — strong markers for success in adulthood.”
Professionally, Sarah holds the position of Program Director at the Academy for Nonprofit Excellence at Tidewater Community College. She is the mom of two girls, one a Girl Scout Daisy! She describes herself as a mission-driven, nonprofit leader and public historian with over a decade of experience in community engagement, education, and organizational development. In all things she does, volunteering or as a professional at work, she brings a strong will to make the world a better place.
