By Selena Templeton and Sean Martin
It has become an ITSPmagazine tradition to start our RSA Conference coverage with what we call Chats On The Road To RSA Conference. We connect with conference keynote speakers, presenters, panelists and organizers to start the conversation way before anyone else does.
During these conversations, we get a sneak peek into what they are planning to share at the conference as well as a glimpse into their backgrounds and some additional insight on the topics they will discuss.
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On today’s episode, Sean Martin and I chat with Sylvia Acevedo, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA, to give us a sneak peek into her RSA Conference talk, called (Girl) Scouting for Talent: The Solution in the Next Generation on Friday, March 8 from 9:50-10:40 a.m.
Sylvia is a former Girl Scout herself, and she shares with us how it was there that she first discovered her passion for space and astronomy, which would eventually lead her to a career as a rocket scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
In the 100 years that the Girl Scouts has been around, they’ve always had a focus on STEM and other relevant subjects for girls, although never more so than right now. Last year, for example, they released 30 new badges in such areas as cybersecurity, mechanical engineering, space science and robotics.
So sit back and listen to our very enjoyable conversation with Sylvia as we chat about some of the Girl Scouts’ latest initiatives like their STEM pledge to add 2.5 million girls to the STEM pipeline by 2025, diversity and inclusion, the technology talent pipeline, and how they’re preparing girls in so many ways, with leadership skills, with curiosity, and with actual technology skills.
And by the way, did you know that 60% of the newest elected women in Congress were Girl Scouts, almost every female astronaut in space was a Girl Scout, and every female secretary of state in U.S. history – Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice, and Hillary Clinton – were also Girl Scouts?
“In this era, where data is overtaking and algorithms are redefining the world around us, we want to make sure that they reflect the world that WE want, the world that protects US.”
Sylvia is truly inspiring, so listen in to this Chats on the Road to hear more about the amazing work that she and the entire Girl Scouts of the USA are doing.
Girl Scouts taught this Brownie how to nourish her love of numbers and science, and she became one of the first Latinx to earn an engineering master’s from Stanford, a NASA rocket scientist, an accomplished entrepreneur and a White House education commissioner. Multiply this success times millions, and the positive future impact of diversity looks powerful. Learn how you can help lead the change.
About Sylvia Acevedo
Sylvia Acevedo, Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of the USA, is committed to serving all girls with cutting-edge, research-backed, and girl-centered programming that ensures the country’s workforce pipeline is filled with true go-getters, innovators, risk-takers, and leaders—what Girl Scouts call G.I.R.L.s.
At Girl Scouts, Sylvia first discovered her passion for space and astronomy that would lead her to a career as a rocket scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and award-winning STEM entrepreneur with technology companies such as Apple, Dell, and IBM.
Sylvia was one of the first Hispanic students to earn a graduate engineering degree from Stanford University—an MS in industrial engineering. She is the author of Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist, a memoir for students meant to inspire them to live the life of their dreams.
