As a young Girl Scout in her home state of Florida, it would have been impossible for Natalye Paquin to envision holding top spot in a world-renowned organization that just celebrated its 100th anniversary last year. To put it mildly, Paquin is proud to be part of an impressive statistic: 10 percent of all girls in the United States were once Girl Scouts—and those 10 percent go on to executive leadership posts 80 percent of the time. In her position as CEO of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania, Paquin is the ultimate role model for the 40,000 girls and young women in her five-county region. “We’re a leadership organization,” says Paquin, who lives in Villanova. “We’re devoted to developing skills in girls to help them become successful global citizens and to make a difference in their community, whether they’re in Gladwyne or Peru.”
Paquin isn’t a stranger to success. Prior to joining the Girl Scouts in 2010, she was the chief of staff and COO for the School District of Philadelphia and executive vice president and COO of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. “My work at the Girl Scouts is a return to 15 years of youth development through education,” she says. “I hope that I’m seen as a leader who really embodies the organization’s mission—to build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.”
