How Laura Warren grew the Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland Council

Nonprofit Executive Director Award Finalist
Laura Warren
Board chair
Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland Council Inc.
(614) 487-8101 | www.gsoh.org
Adult volunteers of Girl Scouts of the USA provide an accepting and nurturing environment to 2.3 million girls nationwide for building character and skills for success in the real world.
Laura Warren has made great strides on behalf of this organization, successfully overseeing three councils through a two-year merger process in 2009 that created the Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland Council Inc. In her eighth year as board chair, Warren’s efforts have helped bring about organizational efficiencies and alignment, positive culture change, and consistent quality programming to girls around the council’s 30-county jurisdiction.
The new council is now one of the strongest Girl Scout councils in the country, with one of the greatest percentages of members. While Girl Scout councils nationwide were losing membership, Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland Council grew significantly — bringing total membership to 33,000 girls currently.
Warren has supported many successful changes in addition to the merger, including a 2010 Strategic Initiatives Concept. One initiative focused on diversity has led to an 11 percent increase in Latina volunteers, with the help of the Ohio Hispanic Coalition and Centro Esperanza.
Prior to her role as board chair, Warren served Girl Scouts in other capacities including treasurer, chair of the finance committee, chair of fund development and an executive committee member.
She also serves as a mentor and engages in various volunteer efforts outside of the Girl Scouts, including work for the Mid-Ohio Food Bank. She formerly chaired Choices Eliminating Domestic Violence.