Council serves western Kansas
GSKH
WICHITA —After leading the Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland council for eight years, Chief Executive Officer Liz Workman is retiring at the end June. During her tenure at the helm of the organization, Workman championed many initiatives launched by the Girl Scouts of the United States and successfully implemented them across the local council to focus on helping girls of today become tomorrow’s leaders.
GSKH serves more than 11,700 girls and adults in 80 western Kansas counties through our operational headquarters in Wichita, and regional offices in Salina, Hays, Emporia and Garden City.
“Leading Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland has been the capstone of my four decade plus professional career. It is an honor to be part of the Girl Scout Movement, helping our Girl Scouts grow and develop the values and skills to thrive and lead everywhere their lives take them. I know our future is bright thanks to the thousands of leaders we are building!” Workman said in a statement.
Under Workman’s guidance, in 2014 when the national association announced the new movement-wide Customer Engagement Initiative, designed to streamline the membership process and enhance customer services, Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland was one of the early adopters throughout 111 councils across the country. The implementation included data migration, technology training, and launching a completely new website, all to improve the customer experience.
Additionally, Workman was very active on the national level serving on numerous committees including:
- National Girl Scout Delivery Systems Gap Team and Integration Team (2016)
- Member of GSUSA’s delegation to the 14th Western Hemisphere Regional Conference held during July 2016 in Curacao
- Council Action Network Cohort Lead since 2017
- Member of GSUSA’s delegation to the International Conference on Catholic Guiding’s World Conference hosted in July 2018 in Rwanda
Her national connections led to hosting two previous Girl Scouts of the USA CEOs, Anna Maria Chavez in 2015, and Sylvia Acevedo in 2018. Both served as Keynote speakers at various functions.
On the local level, Workman was key to launching the Juliette’s Pearls Leadership Society, a giving and advocacy society that raises awareness and funds to ensure Girl Scouts across the council have the opportunity to participate in programs that will help them thrive now and in the future as adults. To date, the society’s support has surpassed $550,000.
Workman also represented Girl Scouts on local and statewide community and educational committees including:
- Kansas Department of Education – Served on the Kansas Department of Education Redesign Advisory Committee since August 2017
- Project Wichita – Served on Project Wichita Vision Team and Lifelong Learning Work Team 2018
During her time with the council, multiple renovations and enhancements have been made to council camp properties to ensure that Girl Scouts continue to have amazing outdoor experiences. Elements such as an Adventure Course that includes zip line, rappelling and climbing opportunities and, most recently, a target range were constructed for older Girl Scouts to experience at Starwoods Outdoor Center. Recreational features such as waterfront activities and archery were also enhanced under Workman’s guidance.
"On behalf of Girl Scouts Kansas Heartland, the board, volunteers and our girl membership, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Liz for her passion and commitment to the mission of Girl Scouts," said Board Chairwoman Helen Wimsatt. "For nearly a decade, Liz has championed leadership growth in girls. Since joining the council, Liz has worked tirelessly to strengthen all aspects of the organization and girl programs. More recently, Liz's leadership allowed the council to successfully navigate through the most unprecedented challenges the pandemic presented. With Liz's creativity, Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland was able to pivot quickly during the pandemic finding innovative avenues to deliver the Girl Scout experience and programing and was among the first in the community to find a way to thank those on the front lines of the pandemic with the Cookies for Courage program. We are grateful for the steady leadership, passion and experience Liz brought to our council and community."
The Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland Board has established a search committee and they have engaged a national search firm to find Workman’s successor.