Interview with Meridith Maskara

Transcript

[Sheldon Young]
Welcome to the No Footprints podcast, brought to you by Alfa Laval. I’m Sheldon Young.

[Jason Moreau]
And I’m Jason Moreau.

[Sheldon Young]
And we’re here to talk about impact and to share the efforts and people behind making sustainability real. Cookies, Jason, that’s what I’m talking about, talking about cookies.

[Jason Moreau]
Well, you had me at cookies.

[Sheldon Young]
I know, right? I’m not talking the internet kind either.

That was a little teaser, a little segue into what’s coming in this interview, because we do have a little cookie talk. We do, we do. That’s not the focus, but you can’t help but focus a little bit when there’s a cookie, right?

[Jason Moreau]
Correct. But also, if I was to time the interview and the amount of time cookie talk took during the interview, it’s a decent-sized cookie, right? It’s a decent-sized chunk of the interview.

[Sheldon Young]
The proportion of the cookie to interview ratio is higher than most episodes.

[Jason Moreau]
For sure, but also commensurate with the importance of the topic, right?

[Sheldon Young]
That’s true.

[Jason Moreau]
It’s in balance with how important the topic is.

[Sheldon Young]
It does roll into sustainability, so we do have that. Before we get to the wonderful interview that I’m super excited about, let’s talk about what’s on your mind. What kind of little nugget you got for the listeners today?

[Jason Moreau]
Sustainability-wise, I came across a fun one. This was actually a story that came out a month or so ago, and it was, if you’re a history buff like I am, the Roman Empire, right? It was around for a long time, and they did some good things from an engineering and sustainability standpoint, specifically their concrete.

[Sheldon Young]
They did a lot of roaming, too, different places. They did.

[Jason Moreau]
It was a big empire. They roamed around. A lot of roaming.

[Sheldon Young]
Oh, it’s not the roaming empire. Sorry. Correct.

[Jason Moreau]
No.

[Sheldon Young]
Sorry. I can’t resist sometimes.

[Jason Moreau]
You can’t resist it. I know.

All right. But no, the concrete, for many decades, right? Scientists wanted to figure out why was it so strong?

In some ways, it was better than modern concrete, and it had some really unusual properties in the sense that it was self-healing, where if microcracks formed in Roman concrete, rainwater would get in, and the cracks would dissolve. The concrete would fill in itself in the cracks. Yeah.

It’s part of the reason why a lot of their aqueducts, coliseums, monuments still remain thousands of years later. It was a very special form of concrete. And so the story was scientists found in Pompeii, the famous city that was— There you go.

You were there. They found a wall that was being repaired, in the middle of being repaired, and the materials all around the worksite. And they were able to finally conclusively prove, okay, this is how the Romans made their concrete.

This is how it became self-healing. It was a special form of lime and the way they prepared it. That’s one form of sustainability, right?

Engineering something to last a thousand years.

[Sheldon Young]
Exactly.

[Jason Moreau]
The life cycle being long, yeah. Correct. The way that this maybe comes into a more modern context is that concrete is estimated, and the production of it is estimated to be about 7% to 8% of greenhouse gases.

[Sheldon Young]
Really?

[Jason Moreau]
And so if you can make concrete as long-lived as the Romans, right, and it repairs itself, right, so you’re making less of it more often, better for sustainability. And so I went down the rabbit hole of there’s a lot of research around not just interesting chemical ways to improve concrete, like things that you add to the concrete that make it self-repair, same as the Roman concrete, but they’re actually exploring biological elements as well. Bacterial spores, mycelium, that the spores are embedded in the concrete, and then when the water gets in there, they kind of self-heal, and they excrete stone-like structures.

Really, really interesting avenues of research. That is interesting. Yeah.

So it’s almost like a living wall, so to speak, in the sense that it self-repairs.

[Sheldon Young]
I don’t know if I want my building to actually be alive.

[Jason Moreau]
Well, you know.

[Sheldon Young]
I can nail a picture in it, it screams or something.

[Jason Moreau]
If you get a vote, you vote for the chemical self-healing concrete versus the…

[Sheldon Young]
Well, you know, yeah. Let’s go with that. It’s a little weird to have things…

You know, we could say that. I mean, I imagine like the… Everyone watch Lord of the Rings, like the Hobbit house is almost built into the hill, right?

It’s almost part of the hill. So I can kind of see it from that perspective, I suppose.

[Jason Moreau]
Yeah. So I like that story because I’m a history buff, but also just the modern context of looking to see what was successful in the past, and then how do we maybe take that good idea and update it with all the good stuff that we know how to engineer today. So that was the story.

[Sheldon Young]
I love that. I think it’s interesting because, you know, you’re right. Building materials are intensive, right?

In terms of like resources and things like that. You’ll find, again, it’s always looking for a different way. Someone somewhere said, you know, let’s see what these guys did, or, you know, 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 years ago, and takes it down a road, and there you are.

And the biological aspect of it is actually pretty fascinating. I was being a little funny, but it’s like, you know, you think now you have all the plant-based and the lab-based foods that are being made in bioreactors and things like that. Well, you know, there’s a sustainable market for it as well.

There’s a demand market. Maybe that stuff could be used, a little formulation change. You’ve got yourself a supply chain for building materials.

Who knows, right?

[Jason Moreau]
Oh, yeah. That’s wild to consider. But yeah, you’re right.

[Sheldon Young]
Yeah. Yeah. Interesting stuff.

My story, Jason, is actually around energy independence. So, you know, wind farms. People have a lot of opinions about wind.

You know, oh, you don’t have power when it’s not running, when it’s not windy. Well, when there’s lots of wind and things like that, there’s lots of back and forth. And, you know, if you go and go, I encourage you, go do your own research on the actual carbon impact of a windmill.

And it’s, you know, when you start doing the math, there are situations that are certainly a worthy source of energy. Let’s just put it that way. So much so that nine countries in Europe have signed an agreement to build a 100 gigawatt wind farm.

What’s a gigawatt? I don’t know. I remember it from Back to the Future.

That’s all I remember. It was the power.

[Jason Moreau]
You said it wrong. It’s 1.21 gigawatts.

[Sheldon Young]
Gigawatt. Maybe it’s gigawatt. I think I wrote giga, you know, but I’m like, oh, maybe it’s pronounced gigawatt.

You know, this is embarrassing. I should know these things. I’m pretty sure you said it right.

I can never know. I don’t, you know, it’s a good one. Follow up next time, Jason.

We’ll put them on the list. But anyways, there’s 100 of them. And so exactly how much power is that?

Well, it’s enough power for over like 50 million homes.

[Jason Moreau]
Whoa.

[Sheldon Young]
Is what that energy is.

They’re looking to build this. It’s important to think about, again, why do you do things? Well, number one, you do it because it’s a renewable source.

You aren’t putting carbon into the air on a regular, long-term, ongoing basis. Do you have to consider other things? Yes, of course you do.

You have to do detailed studies of what other impacts these things could have. But they’re going to do that. They’re going to dive in.

They’re going to learn. And they’re going to build these with hope, lots of responsibility. But we also have to think about energy independence.

As the world doesn’t give up its demand and the world keeps evolving, there’s more demand for energy. You have to find sources that are going to work for the society that we live in. And it’s interesting and I think good that you’re seeing multi-country coalitions forming around developing an infrastructure that allows for some alternatives to the current energy schema.

And I think we have to continue to think about that as we move forward. Because again, demand’s not going to go down, particularly all the data centers and everything else that are really, really demanding lots of energy.

[Jason Moreau]
No, absolutely. Yeah, I think you want multiple ways of generating power. It’s just going to make the grid more resilient.

Yeah, for sure.

[Sheldon Young]
Okay, so let’s get the interview. And before that, though, I don’t know, again, when this interview is actually coming out. We’ve been waiting on a couple of things to find that out.

But it might still be that Girl Scout cookie season. I mentioned this last time around. Or I mentioned this in a previous episode.

It’s the last one. It depends on when we release these. But I mentioned Girl Scout cookies, right?

And so our guest today is a member of that organization. And, you know, if it is still Girl Scout cookie season, make sure you go look and find them. Girlscouts.org will help you find your local troop. Or you can even, I think, order them online if you want to. Yep. You know, it’s dangerous for me.

Just not going to lie. Yeah, but with that, let’s get to the guest. Meredith and I actually were childhood friends.

I’ve known Meredith since we were pretty, pretty small. I sit in awe of her. I mean, what she’s doing with the Girl Scouts for America, the impact she’s having on girls lives all over the country.

And frankly, probably the world just blows my mind. And we’re going to talk all about it. So what do you say we get to that, Jason?

[Jason Moreau]
Let’s do it.

[Sheldon Young]
Welcome to the No Footprints podcast. Our guest today is Meredith Maskara.

Meredith became chief development officer at Girl Scouts USA in 2024, bringing extensive Girl Scout leadership experience and a passion to expand equitable opportunities for girls nationwide. You might ask, how does Girl Scouts relate to sustainability? Well, we’re going to dive into that.

Prior to her current role, she was CEO of Girl Scouts of Greater New York, where she grew membership, built a strong culture of philanthropy, and launched Troop 6000, serving thousands of women and girls in New York shelters. With a background in theatrical branding and over a decade as a troop leader, she’s a lifelong advocate for the transformative power of Girl Scouting. And she’s passed this on to her five girls, as well as countless thousands of others.

And it is my absolute pleasure to welcome Meredith to the No Footprints podcast. Hello, friend.

[Meredith Maskara]
Hello. So excited to be here. Thanks for having me.

[Sheldon Young]
Exactly. Full disclosure, I have known Meredith since we were wee lads, like literal wee lads in lovely rural Maine, where we grew up together. And you’ve been a scout since the very beginning.

[Meredith Maskara]
I have. I am a third generation Girl Scout. And yeah, you knew me in all of those years of trying to create change in our own community up in Maine, and then became a volunteer with the organization back in when my oldest daughter was old enough to become a Girl Scout, and realized living here in New York City, in this new generation, realizing how relevant the movement is and still grounded in its old traditional roots.

I mean, it’s 114 year old organization. But the nimbleness of the organization and the willingness to learn with every generation of how relevant and necessary it is still at this point in time, and especially to girls in underserved communities and really hitting in today’s day and age subjects and exposing them to subjects and opportunities that don’t always exist for young girls these days. So commitment to that took me from a for profit career to the birth of my five daughter, falling in love more and more with the movement and understanding my future is definitely about young women and left for profit, specifically go to work for Girl Scouts at Greater New York.

And now I’m very excited to be here at the national level to create sustainable change in every aspect.

[Sheldon Young]
So tell us a bit, what is your role? I read it, but what is it actually focused on?

[Meredith Maskara]
So in the role as Chief Development Officer, it’s very exciting because I get to oversee the investment for girls. My main focus is making sure that I connect philanthropists and foundations and corporate giving with the movement, with their personal goals of what they want to make changes in the world. And it’s what keeps me up at night and what’s wakes me up every morning is that less than 2% of philanthropic dollars go to women and girls.

So you can imagine like there’s educational institutions, religious institutions, hospitals and medicine, all the incredible things that philanthropy does and needs to support. And then you keep going down the line and outside of and beyond animals and pet shelters and all of that is an investment for women and girls. So I think as the oldest and largest organization serving girls with 58 million alum across the US, we are the movement that should be changing those numbers.

So I am very comfortable going and asking people for help of time, treasure or talent to ensure that our future is in the right hands.

[Sheldon Young]
I have none of those just for the record.

[Meredith Maskara]
Doing this counts, talking about it counts, making it relevant to those who haven’t connected with the movement counts. So thank you.

[Jason Moreau]
Yeah. So I was just wondering when you think broadly, how do you see sustainability fitting in with the mission? And I guess two parts like on the philanthropy side, like do you find that donors are asking more about that and maybe they phrase it in a different way and it’s your job to sort of connect it or, but also like coming from, like you said, the new generations coming in.

Do they just sort of more have that mindset and it’s sort of like creating the programs, just, yeah. Yeah.

[Meredith Maskara]
I love that you asked that question because it actually has made me, it’s made me really stop and think like how many people don’t associate Girl Scouts with sustainability naturally, which I always love to be able to like smash stereotypes then and make people really, really think, because I will tell you from a Girl Scout point of view, it is so, and always has been like so woven in and ingrained in the basics of the program. From our promise in our law to make the world a better place, like respect myself and others, you know, the community service aspect of like giving back to a community, creating sustainable projects that pass from girl to girl to generation to generation that can actually transform a community, our environmental leadership programs through our camp programming.

So, like, to me, that’s always been, I mean, when we were originally established, Julie Gordon Lowe, one of the first, the first things they did was outdoors, was the fact that women and girls in 1912, that wasn’t a natural space or an expected space for them to be in. So it was, we are going to do, and we’re going to go, and you’re going to learn how to build a fire, and you’re going to learn how to camp, and you’re going to learn how to forage, and all of those things like should have been just become habitual. So it’s always been ingrained.

I mean, leaving the world a better place, leaving the space you found better than, cleaner than you found it. All of those things are just in the ethos and then like what we ask girls to do on a daily basis. So from kindergarten to 12th grade, we have 1.2 million girls, 1.7 million members across the U.S. Now, that’s part of when they go into any meeting, when they’re picking any badge work, even in the world of technology and STEM and cyber security, we have a whole program that’s called Cyber for Good. That is, how are you using technology and cyber security for sustainable projects that align to create a better place and a sustainable place? So that like literal green of Girl Scouts has always just been like, absolutely, it’s at the core and at the center. And in all of the iterations of badge work, so for people who don’t know, Girl Scouts earn badges for different levels that they do.

It’s very girl focused, and girls get to choose what they’re most interested in and what they want to change. And it’s about deciding, choosing, setting a goal, collaborating with girls in your troop or those within your community, establishing a take action project, and then taking action. And the most popular vein is always in the eco-friendly, starting from daisies who are kindergartners, doing community cleanups.

At the lower levels, they literally are eco-friends, household elf, your planet, wonders of water. It’s your planet, love it. Like these are the names of the badges that we have, right, that go all the way through to making sure that the eco-explorer goes all the way up to connecting the girls at the older level to the UN initiatives and working on global badges that involve them in long-term take action projects that connect girls from across the globe.

[Sheldon Young]
That’s amazing. I mean, to see, again, I logically don’t know much about Girl Scouts, I don’t have girls, don’t have kids, but I always knew they did good things, partially because I watched you and the things you did and the people like you that were in the program. But just hearing how tightly it’s interwoven into the ethos of what you do and the badges themselves and all that, I mean, it’s so, I guess, inspiring, I guess the word we don’t hear a lot these days, to see that making a better planet and creating a more sustainable world is so, like, rewarded in a way, right?

And to see that the projects that tie to it and the badges and it’s part of who you guys are and I love it. I mean, it’s just so fun to hear that coming from you as a leader in that organization.

[Meredith Maskara]
Yeah. And I want to say, like, in such a tangible way, you know, and specifically with the UN initiatives, right? Like, this is where, like, connecting that to real-world applications for girls to be able to see a global impact, there’s always a focus on opening up doors for environmental leadership careers and pipeline and workforce, right?

Like, that is a heavy, heavy focus in all of these programs. And, like, the Global Action Award, which is the one that we do in alignment with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, that’s our global one. And that is specifically moving towards the 17 initiatives.

Like, girls have to actually do that, decide. And we’ve layered in a new element to that program, which is when girls participate in it, and we do have girls here at the UN during all of the events, is that when they leave, they have to do an impact of telling that story or their experience to another 100 people. So it’s that constant halo effect of that girl scouting can impact one girl doing the experience and then how it ripples out and affects the community.

I did just learn that today we are very excited because the 250,000th tree has been planted in Ohio. So we signed on to the Million Trees Project years ago.

[Sheldon Young]
Okay. What is…

[Meredith Maskara]
Wait, I’m sorry.

[Sheldon Young]
I don’t know what that is.

[Meredith Maskara]
It is… So it’s the Tree Promise, and it was originally established three years ago. And there was a commitment to one million environmental actions taking place.

So we have 111 different councils that represent all the zip codes across the United States. And it did start… It started in Ohio, and they have now, just in that one state, girls have been responsible for it.

Girl Scouts there have been responsible for planting 250,000 trees.

[Sheldon Young]
That is amazing.

[Meredith Maskara]
So those kind of measurements that are just… Like people may not see. And again, in a world where there’s a lot going against these initiatives or different thoughts on these initiatives, for girls to be recognized within their community for those little small projects that they know have made a difference and do add up to a million environmental actions that are taking place, right?

[Sheldon Young]
Yeah. I love that. It’s…

We’re all contributors. We all have a mark to make. And what’s so fun to watch for an organization like the Girl Scouts, it’s like the volume and the size of the organization makes one little action by so many incredibly powerful and impactful.

And if one does it and it ripples across the organization, it’s just an example, and it’s a momentum. I guess that’s the word I’m looking for. It’s a momentum.

And you just can’t beat that, right? We all sit in our little bubbles and say, how does my action make a difference if I stop doing this one little thing? And well, watch the Girl Scouts.

One little action multiplied by 1.7 million, I think you said the number was, is a big wave. And if we can all just do that and think about our actions and impact in the same way, 360 or 70 million people in the US, right? That’s an incredibly powerful way to think about it.

And you’re kind of a shining example of it and right there for us to all see.

[Meredith Maskara]
Well, and I think what makes it very tangible, and of course, I always say I have the best job because no matter how a work day can go, the mission is so centered in our work here. There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t get to hear or see for myself the impact that one girl can make within a community and to see that. And I always just ask, just recognize that one positive affirmation and reassurance that what that one girl did, did make a difference in her block, on her community, on her street.

That one tree can, we need to hear that. And girls need to hear that in particular because it’s just that positive reassurance. And then that ripple effect, like you said, just happens.

Jason, I do want to go back to your one question about philanthropy in this time and space and working with it. And it has been incredible. So one of the things with Girl Scouts, again, is our camp properties, right?

And I wish I had the exact number, but I don’t. We can find that for you of how the properties we have. But most of our, I mean, there’s camp properties, day camps, overnight camps.

The one one I can have, New York City Council, we have a property outside of the city that’s 425 acres, right? So for girls who, and sometimes camp is not accessible, and outdoor adventure and outdoor experience, whether it’s financial barriers, location barriers, et cetera, just stigma and fear and breaking, again, breaking stereotypes of what that could look like. But the leaning in on the environmental leadership and sustainability programs that happen at camp.

So many of the camps that are undergoing and have undergone any upgrades are all doing it within this Girl Scout green standard of girl involvement in it, of learning not only how to make the space greener, but also the buildings and the energy and the solar, everything, right? That’s all part of the programmatic elements. So they get to experience it in just such a tangible hands-on type of way.

And then, of course, the respect for the property. So on the philanthropic side, we have some really incredible, I will say, Waverly Street Foundation being one of the most focused in this is ensuring that more girls from communities who do not have access to camp are able to go and are able to really work and learn on the properties to focus on environmental sustainability and to focus specifically on climate change and to then be able to, again, bring that back into where they came from and have that be a sustainable program moving forward. So funders are very much focused on all of those aspects of it because we do have the scalable model, right? Like you were saying, Sheldon, with like 1.7, it is the way to when you invest in a national program that you can reach. We are present in every zip code in the United States, and so reaching communities that are just so much harder to do if you’re going at it one by one by one. So the mass scale of that. And again, because we’ve just been so ingrained in connecting girls with nature.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about like, obviously, it’s our planet and it’s our world. And it is all about like leaving it better for the next generation and our commitment to do that. But the mental health crisis that is hitting young people in the world today and the direct correlation between outdoor experiences and time in the outdoors and in time in the environment and unplugging, like we can’t forget that that is not only for human sustainability for our youth, just as important.

And the two are just at this intersection right now where all of that research is there to show that like this is this is what we this is the biggest gift we could give our generation is to make sure we are disrupting their regular learning or online learning tools and making sure that they are outdoors and literally touching and feeling and breathing it.

[Jason Moreau]
I’m so glad you mentioned that because I was just going to say, I mean, for me personally, but almost everybody I know, it’s so therapeutic to be in nature and to. Open a door to that experience to people who would otherwise and especially, you know, young kids, impressionable kids, and to give them that experience is just amazing because, yeah, I mean, I just I don’t think there’s I think there’s a reason like Walden is still popular, right? Like this idea of like going into the woods and you you’re communing with something bigger than yourself in a very real way.

And I just know how important that is. So I think it’s awesome that you do that.

[Meredith Maskara]
Yeah.

[Sheldon Young]
And I can also imagine, yeah, the power of connection with other humans and people, right? I can’t imagine a stronger support group than like being in a pack, right? It’s the very nature of the I’m sorry.

Troop is the appropriate for Girl Scouts. I didn’t correct myself on that. But, you know, I can imagine that’s going to be so reinforcing and confidence building, frankly, and by being together in an outdoor space, all working towards things like saving the planet and making leaving it better for the next generation.

It’s got to be such a great lesson. It’s got to have such a fantastic long term impact that it’s I can’t say enough good things about it. Just watching it from the seat I’m in.

It’s amazing.

[Meredith Maskara]
And it’s and it’s the it’s the respect, right? It’s the respect for for for the earth and for the elements and doing that through disruptive learning. I mean, you know, there’s nothing there’s nothing better than watching a group of girls at overnight camp having to deal with like horrible weather and rain.

And or snow and the change of the environment and like the the things like that, the complaints, right? Like, and I’m wet and my feet hurt and there’s this and it’s cold and and then a year later, you could run into that girl and be like, oh, my God, remember the most amazing time we had?

[Sheldon Young]
That was the best. That was the best. You’re like, didn’t wasn’t that like they’re like, yeah, but like that was the best rainstorm.

And remember how it smelled afterwards. And then like all the different animals that came out and like that you can’t you can’t teach that anywhere else but on that kind of in that spot.

[Meredith Maskara]
And for them to have that communal experience of sharing that together. Those are the stories that last and get told from from from generation to generation of Girl Scouts.

[Sheldon Young]
Yeah, fantastic. Well, let’s get down to the most important cookies. Everybody loves the cookies.

You can’t get around that topic. So but again, when you think about cookies, and you think about the packaging and all the shipping and all the things like it, how do Girl Scouts think about that in terms of sustainability? When it comes to the cookie business?

Can you talk about that a little bit? And how it’s incorporated into the program?

[Meredith Maskara]
Yeah, yeah. And I will say this and it’s taken with the same care and attention and listening to our girls as to what they’ve called out and made changes on. So fun facts about cookies.

Number one, always like can find them on go find them online. Girls have digital cookie sites depending on when this airs. It is cookie season right now.

[Sheldon Young]
It’s always cookie season, Meredith.

[Meredith Maskara]
Somebody’s always has always has a box put in their freezer, right?

[Sheldon Young]
You are 100% correct.

[Meredith Maskara]
It is the fun fact is the it is the second largest if you take all the different flavors of Girl Scout cookies, it is the second largest brand of cookies next to Oreo sold. And it’s sold typically in a six to 12 week time period, right? There is a season.

Which is crazy. There are no BPAs in any of our packaging.

[Meredith Maskara]
Okay.

[Meredith Maskara]
There are no PFAS chemicals in any of our packaging.

[Meredith Maskara]
Excellent.

[Meredith Maskara]
And not processed with any equipment that uses them. So they are also all of our packaging is now made from 100% recycled paper. And all of our paper packaging.

There’s been movement towards less packaging on the ones that were with the film overwrapping. Not less cookies. Just putting that not less cookies, just less packaging.

[Sheldon Young]
Let’s not let’s not let’s not start a revolution.

[Meredith Maskara]
No, there are always we’re committed to our amount of cookies. And we use two different bakers across the nation. And through both bakers, we have a firm commitment to continuously improving, improving the waste.

So it is obviously over a timeline of how we do it. Everything going from through the logistics program of less, less diesel, less fuel and less material. But the packaging has in of itself been a very, I would say pretty fast transformation over the past 5 to 7 years in how quickly we’ve been able to do it.

So obviously reducing the amount of materials used, optimizing the use of renewable or recyclable materials. And any hard to recycle plastics where possible to shifting towards the recycled materials. But I will say there are a lot of there are a lot of other areas that could continue to and in partnership with our bakers.

It is it is firm. There’s not a year that goes by that we don’t hear from different Girl Scouts with different ideas and thoughts on how to continuously improve. At the same time, you hear of like, oh, we’d like we want resealable packages.

And you’re like, well, resealable packages actually go against our our sustainability. Like there’s there would be more material there and it’s OK to open a box and eat the whole thing.

[Sheldon Young]
It’s correct. I’m doing I’m doing good work over here. I’m sustainable cookie consumption.

That’s what I’m doing.

[Meredith Maskara]
Exactly. You know, and I think that I’ve just been I’ve been very proud. I sat on the the cookie steering committee when I was council CEO with the national office here and worked on on a lot of these changes over those over the past 10 years.

And it’s it’s I’m very proud of of the direction of the partnership with the bakers. And again, always taking input input from our girls. The other one that you that you haven’t brought up, though, is all of these badges, right?

Like we love our merch, right? We have with one point seven million. There’s a lot of badges that are earned.

There’s a lot of we we love our all of our tchotchkes and whatnot. Right. And we have a huge merchandising line as well.

That commitment of absolutely everything used to come in small plastic bags, individually wrapped, et cetera. That has been an entire shift as well with with an incredible change, even from our distribution center of of how we’re how we’re sourcing and how we’re distributing through our mail order and through the warehouses to.

[Sheldon Young]
I love it. Again, it’s everyone is on a journey, right? And it’s like in step one is awareness.

Step two is let’s collect the ideas. And you’re doing that. I love that they come from your girls.

Right. And it comes up through and I’m sure you get it from other areas as well. But just having it come up through and you listen to that and turn it into real, actionable things that to me is what this makes sustainability real.

That’s the whole podcast. How do you make sustainability real? Well, we let our troop make it real, right?

We let our girls make it real and give us the guidance and how they want to present themselves to the world. And so just again, it’s like I learn more and more and feel so much pride in just watching from afar. And it’s amazing to kind of to do that.

[Meredith Maskara]
So, you know, the the plastic straw ban that started in Alaska, right? That was a gold award. Girl Scouts.

That was her gold award project was advocating and getting policy changed in the state of Alaska.

[Jason Moreau]
Oh, wow.

[Meredith Maskara]
Like that’s the kind of that’s those are the kind of projects that are happening at at the high school level for for some of these Girl Scouts who, you know, since the time they were five were like, this is how I change the world.

[Sheldon Young]
So yeah, I said, that’s why I get to read that one on the resume. Yeah, I pretty much made a movement happen. No big deal.

[Meredith Maskara]
Exactly right. And there will always be people who don’t like paper straws, but she made a movement happen.

[Sheldon Young]
They don’t have to be. You can go with they make them out of all kinds of materials now that don’t have to be paper, right? They don’t have to just put your lips on the glass.

There you go. There’s that.

[Meredith Maskara]
Oh, boy.

[Sheldon Young]
Jason, what questions you got?

[Jason Moreau]
I wasn’t a question, but more just a comment as I’m as I’m listening. Like that example of of, you know, the the girl who was able to to sort of move that legislation through.

I’m imagining that like the reason she had that belief was because she had five years, 10 years of doing successive projects, maybe each one a little bit bigger, a little bit tougher, a little right, like stretching herself in that way. Right. Like, I’m guessing that wasn’t her first at bat.

Right. And so what I what I think is really impressive was is just this this sense of like scoping the project, going after it, finding the resources, finding the collaborators. Like these are things we talk about constantly on the podcast in terms of like find your allies for sustainability, like scope it the right way.

Like and you’re just it’s it’s just so I guess just inspirational for lack of a better word to see it happening and to but to like have a system where that’s reinforced and and taught and you know, you get these successes and then the belief is there. Right. Why wouldn’t she think she that that wouldn’t be possible?

Right. Like and I think that’s the key. Right.

Like why not on all these other things? Why not this? Right.

Like it’s just one step further versus just this big like gap of like, man, that’s that’s crazy. I don’t think I can do that. Right.

So just listening to you is just more the like the way you start a movement or the way that you you sort of bring people in is just these little tiny wins and then just build on it, build on it, build on it. And I just it’s it’s amazing. Like I really just appreciate learning about it.

[Sheldon Young]
What I’m hearing here, it’s obvious that one of the biggest lessons of Girl Scouts is, hey, you don’t have to sit on the sideline.

[Meredith Maskara]
Yeah.

[Sheldon Young]
Right. And it’s just such a, you know, you kind of said, Jason, you know, why not me? Someone’s going to do this.

Why not be me? And just having that, I guess, confidence and that, you know, hey, we got your back. One point seven million of us got your back.

Go for it. And it you know, that’s how things get done is by having that. And when it comes to this very, very important topic of sustainability, it’s like we’re not going to get it done unless there are more more girls and more everyone that says, OK, I can I can make this change.

I can push for this change. And, you know, again, it’s like you’re building the leaders that are going to do that. And so when you say how to make sustainability real, hey, go watch a Girl Scout.

They’re doing it every day. Exactly.

[Meredith Maskara]
They are. They are. You know, and the thing is, is like we’re very stealth, right?

Like that’s like our secret sauce is that it’s it’s it’s so woven in to become habitual just from practices of traditions that happen at troop meetings like and how and that’s, you know, our our our mission to build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place. And that, you know, you don’t sit there and go, you’re going to be confident and you’re going to have character like one of those little things that make you pause and you practice it in a very safe space with, you know, with your peers. And it’s OK if you don’t get it right the first time.

And they’re accountable to each other in that group. And you have a loving, caring mentor and volunteer who most of the time doesn’t have an affiliation. Like there’s somebody who’s not who’s not being paid to be here with me, who’s not who’s who’s here because they want to they want to give back.

And they’re actually investing in me as an individual. All of that stuff makes that secret sauce for, you know, most girls don’t come out of the gate and be like, I feel so confident. They go in there like, well, I just did all of this over here in this space.

Like, it makes no difference if I now go and do it in an external thing or if I go and do it at the statehouse and change it here. It is it is the same. It’s just a bad class.

Yeah, yeah. It just becomes practice. Yeah, yeah.

That makes being a leader less, less scary, more obtainable because that leadership also meets them where they are. And as you said, everyone’s on their own journey.

[Sheldon Young]
And just again, that’s what’s so wonderful about the organization is that it starts here, kindergarten, and then I get to watch all these girls do this. Right. And it is a it is a toe effect.

Right. You can’t help but come along. I mean, because they look you’re watching it every day and you’re living in every day.

Sustainability is much the same way. Just watch and learn. Okay, so a couple of questions here.

So what what are your biggest goals and hopes for Girl Scouts for the future? If you’ve got if you’ve got this horizon ahead of you, what are your biggest hopes and goals right now?

[Meredith Maskara]
Yeah, so we are we’re embarking on what we call Vision 2030. Okay, which is a full based on all of the research in this post COVID of looking at how, again, our relevance of how this generation engages what what their needs are in the mental health space of how to get to that secret sauce. Because the ways youth are absorbing it is very looks very different, feels very, very different.

And how parents are making choices of how their kids participate in things looks and feels very different than it did pre COVID. So taking all of that into going, we have to we’re going to we’re revolutionizing how we engage, which is right now in this amazing iterative state of like, working with communities and with parents and caregivers and girls themselves to go, how do you want to define yourself as a Girl Scout? Does it need to look like Meredith Mascara did at the age of 12, which was all decked out in my uniform and doing this like routine?

Probably not. Probably not. But where are the core elements of Girl Scouting that bring that community, that sense of belonging, and all of those all of the values and that root work?

How can we deliver it in a different model that families can participate, girls participate, they may participate different when they’re in fifth grade versus when they’re in high school. They may just participate at camp. They may participate online.

So looking at all of that, it’s a very exciting time period to just be responsive to this generation post COVID and technology, like all at once. And again, 114 years old, we’ve pivoted a lot for every generation. But this one feels more timely in how we do it.

So that is part of it. Increasing access. So again, changing how we show up in community so that we are not seen as by invite only.

That there’s such great advantage to being a generational organization, but there’s such a disadvantage too, because it can appear that if you haven’t done it, you won’t do it, or you shouldn’t do it, or that’s somebody else’s thing. So really, really looking at how we’re creating access and making sure that it’s accessible for all and we remain relevant. And then securing tomorrow, which is all about sustainability for the movement, sustainability for the depth of the programs that we’re able to do, the relevant programs, and financial stability of looking at this age and this day of philanthropy, what does that look like?

And how do we make sure that another 114 years are just as solid as they have been? And changing, really changing the world in between by letting the girls do that.

[Sheldon Young]
They’re hanging on that one pretty well.

[Meredith Maskara]
They are.

[Jason Moreau]
You roll all of that out as it comes to fruition? Is it one big knitted together, because you said 2030. So I was just curious how you eat the elephant, so to speak, in terms of the rollout?

[Meredith Maskara]
Yeah, we’re deep in the throes of it. Our board just approved the whole strategy. This past year, we’re working with our 111 councils in partnership to co-design with them.

We are bringing experts to the table. We always say we are experts in girls, and we need to have experts in everything else by our side to be doing this together, from the research all the way through. We have some starts that we are doing between now and in the fall.

But again, always wanting to come back to going, is this working? Are we measuring it correctly? Is it the impact that we’re looking for?

Is it resonating with others, not just for members, but with donors and with the world? Is it mission aligned? And what can we change?

And I think that that’s a process that we’re giving ourselves the grace to be able to go. We have our pillars, and we know the direction that we’re going in, but we have to accept the fact that it won’t be the same thing we tell our girls. It might not be perfect the first time.

Try it. It’s going to take a few times. You have to fail a few times before you get to a solution.

And they’re worth the investment of us really, really going into this full steam ahead and figuring it out.

[Jason Moreau]
Yeah, it’s exciting. I mean, it sounds, for lack of a better word, like a rebranding exercise, right? It’s really understanding what the audience is demanding of you.

Respecting the heritage, but still being able to take those core elements forward. Thread the needle. And if anybody can do it, I’m pretty sure you guys can.

Mission doesn’t change. It’s the matter. No, yeah.

[Sheldon Young]
Yeah, for sure. Excellent. So, okay.

So we’re kind of wrapping towards the end here. Any final things you’d like to tell your listeners, anything coming up, like events, promotions, then if they’re interested in supporting the organization, what’s the best way to kind of do that and help the Girl Scouts keeping sustainability real?

[Meredith Maskara]
Well, thank you for that. That’s always my favorite question. And again, thinking about all of your listeners who may be going, I did not know that.

I did not know that. And my guess is there’s a lot of things that you don’t know about Girl Scouts that I would love for everybody who’s curious to learn more. And because we’re so present in every community, a great place to start is to go to girlscouts.org.

And you can look up your local council. And I go back to the time, treasure and talent. 58 million alum across the United States.

So many, many of the listeners I’m sure have had a Girl Scout experience. Connect with your local council. Connect and see where your local troop is.

Go back to those roots that you knew and your promise and lots, the same ones these girls need to see themselves in the adults and in the alum. So if it is time and talent, always we love to have volunteers. It is so meaningful to be able to do that.

There are incredible events going on at local councils all over. Always go on the cookie finder and put in your zip code and find out where you can get cookies.

[Sheldon Young]
I have it on speed dial, Meredith.

[Meredith Maskara]
Always a very important one.

[Meredith Maskara]
Or speed search, I guess.

[Meredith Maskara]
And look, the treasure portion, which is if you’re giving to your local council or whether you want to support at a national level, all of those proceeds go to help more girls have the experience that the other girls are having. So there’s plenty of opportunities to give the gift of membership, to donate directly so that the council can use it to cover the costs for girls who aren’t able to attend. Or if there is a specific program like sustainability or camp programming or outdoor and environmental leadership, those can be directed as well so that you’re investing right in the program that you’re hearing about here.

[Sheldon Young]
Amazing. Love all those ways. And if someone wants to get ahold of like yourself or someone high up and write you a big check or something, how do they do that?

[Meredith Maskara]
You can always find me online. My name is pretty unique and it is Maskara with a K and you can find me on any of the any socials. But you can also email me at Maskara, M-A-S-K-A-R-A at girlscouts.org.

[Sheldon Young]
Fantastic. Well, thank you so, so, so much for this. I haven’t walked out of an interview feeling so inspired in quite a while.

And so thank you for sharing the time with us. And I really appreciate you having here.

[Meredith Maskara]
Thank you.

[Sheldon Young]
Girl Scouts of America, Jason.

[Jason Moreau]
A phenomenal organization. It is a phenomenal person.

And great interview.

[Sheldon Young]
I wasn’t it though. I mean, I tell you, it’s like, again, as you’ve learned from the interview and beforehand, I’ve known Meredith a long time and there’s a long span of time. We didn’t, I didn’t get to see her or talk to each other just because, you know, different lives, you know, it’s probably, I remember catch up with Meredith like once or twice between college and now.

Yeah. But it’s just like, you know, she’s that kind of person you start talking to her and right away, you know, I guess you, we kept a little on social media, but that’s not the same. You just right away, you’re talking to an old friend and you know it.

[Jason Moreau]
Right.

[Sheldon Young]
Even if you don’t know her well, it’s like talking to an old friend and you know, probably what makes her great at her job. Right.

[Jason Moreau]
Absolutely.

[Sheldon Young]
Yeah. Um, to me again, the, the, the key takeaway, you know, besides the obvious connection to sustainability that the Girl Scouts have and, uh, how they’re raising a generation, multiple generations of leaders at any given time that think about sustainability, respect the planet are doing things, uh, to actually make a difference. I mean, some of these, uh, ones that are doing these projects that are like these, like the the gold standard project, they were actually called, but, uh, it just blows my mind.

Blows my mind. Uh, that, uh, that that’s happening.

[Jason Moreau]
Yeah. I mean, that was super impressive. I think I jotted down a couple of things when I was listening to it.

The, the sort of, I guess, two, two threads or themes that stood out for me were the value of mission and the value of a tribe. Obviously a Girl Scout, it’s a troop, right? But I think when you talk sustainability, when you talk about making real change happen, having that mission first and foremost in front of you is just so important.

Uh, and the fact that it’s a mission that for the Girl Scouts has sustained them for over a hundred years, right. And hearing Meredith reflect on, oh, wow. Like we might have a more modern idea of what sustainability means, but that it is there from the very beginning.

And when you start looking for it, it just pops up everywhere. And then just that idea of a tribe of people who support you in that mission and reinforce the fact that like, no, this is where we’re going. And this is why, um, because we all have days where we don’t have energy.

Uh, we’re kind of questioning things and then it’s like, nope, come on. I gotcha. We’re going to keep going.

And I, and I, and I think, uh, the sustained, the sustainability journey is a long one. And I, and I think for me, that was, that was a couple of the impactful things that I heard talking to her was just when, when you have those two things, like it, it, it makes that long journey, I think more tangible and real.

[Sheldon Young]
You’re not, uh, everything you say is, is truth, Jason. I think, uh, uh, to me also, it reflected so much the, the power of confidence building and having, again, that supportive community, like, you know, the true tribe, whatever you want to call it. Right.

Um, it just allows for so much more possibility to become real because so many times I think so many people don’t do because they feel alone in a mission. And what the Girl Scouts obviously do is create an environment where first you can practice and, and, uh, in a safe place. And then they give you that, uh, I guess, catapult and platform to take it to a public place and to proudly, you know, to stand up for things, you know, a right stand up for things, you know, are meaningful to you.

And then I guess, realize that, you know, you’ve seen other Girl Scouts do this too. Why not me?

[Sheldon Young]
Right.

[Sheldon Young]
That’s, I think that’s such, it’s like, I thought about this a lot during the interview. It’s like, wow. I mean, if you have Girl Scouts, you’re starting at a really young age.

I think they did a name for the kindergartner. I can’t remember what it was. Daisies.

I think it was daisies. Yes. Daisies and brownies.

I forget. I forget the, I don’t know the, the, the path, but imagine being a daisy and seeing this. This young woman that has been in Girl Scouts for 10 years or more.

And then seeing someone that was in Girl Scouts now leading a company, uh, it’s just gotta be so like, it’s like, nope, there’s a path. There is a path. There are people that have done it before me.

They’re teaching me the same things. Why not me?

[Jason Moreau]
Yeah.

[Sheldon Young]
And when it comes to sustainability, one of the hardest things is, you know, finding the path and being bold and taking chance because you don’t, you know, not everyone has done it before. And there’s not always a lot of people around you that, that are thinking the same way or care as much about it as you do. Uh, and it’s hard, right?

It’s lonely. And, and, you know, sometimes you don’t, you, you lose your confidence sometimes. That’s what, to me, when I hear what they do and how much they, you know, sustainability is just a part of a part of it.

It’s just part of what they do. Right. Part of their mantra, their mission.

Uh, you know, wow. If we could just have that for all sustainability professionals, frankly, the sustainability scouts of America, whatever you want to call it. Right.

Um, I think, you know, what a, what a powerful, powerful, powerful thing. And I, I just so, so love talking to her about it.

[Jason Moreau]
Yeah. And it’s, it’s, it’s normalizing the behavior, right? Like you said, it’s creating the space for it, but it’s also normalizing the behavior and the behaviors, the, the important piece.

Cause you can, you can talk about what your mission is. You can talk about what your values are, but like you need people to act and you need to see what that act looks like and then what those acts lead to in terms of like positive outcomes. And, um, I, I just think it’s really like I jotted down, um, and this was actually something that was brought up in, um, another interview that we did, but just the idea that small acts matter.

Yeah. Yeah. And that they, they really do compound, but they don’t just compound for you.

They compound for people who are watching you and going like, oh, they did that. I could probably do that. Right.

Yeah. And it just, um, yeah, that just the community that’s developed there, the, um, we’ll call it the, um, the desire to, to sort of invite people into that opportunity. Um, when she talked about like, uh, all of the different like, uh, camp properties and opportunity to like actually be in nature again, like the, the behavior is what matters.

Right. And you can talk about it’s important to protect the environment. It’s important to do all of this stuff, but like to actually connect it for somebody who may not have had a lot of opportunities to actually be out in nature and understand what that means for them personally.

Um, just really, really cool stuff.

[Sheldon Young]
Yeah. Yeah. And again, you just struck on something else that I remembered.

It’s like the fact that Girl Scouts is for everyone. Yeah. Right.

And that to me, that, that, uh, leveling of opportunity, uh, I mean, gosh, I mean the world needs that, right. First of all. But, you know, making sure that they think of people and access to things, you know, yeah.

If you grow up, uh, in a certain area of the, of the country and have access to all these great things and can go on hikes in the woods anytime you want. Fantastic. Hey, this person over here doesn’t have that.

How do we create that for them? Exactly. And that consciously, you know, as a 1.7 million, I think was a number, uh, girl force create that, right.

[Jason Moreau]
Right.

[Sheldon Young]
Wow. Wow. Just, it gives me chills just thinking about it.

And one thing before we close on this interview, I want to make sure we don’t miss that another. I guess, uh, you know, stone cold fact she dropped, dropped on us was the, the lack of resources currently allocated to women’s and girls causes. That was a wild stat.

It was, it was 2% of all philanthropy. I think she said what the number was. Pardon me if I’m not a hundred percent right.

Um, let’s not let that go by. Right. Things like the, you know, the cookie sale that you are also are important, but there’s also other things we can do as, as organizations, as individuals, as, you know, philanthropists, whatever the case may be.

Look to engage, uh, organizations. I mean, look, I don’t want to say any causes better than the other, but when you hear that number and you have such an obvious place, you could invest something, uh, that does such a level of good at such a young age for such an extended period of time. That sounds like an all right bet to me.

And, uh, I think, uh, you know, uh, I guess my one thing not to walk away forgetting is that, you know, sustainability is a part of that organization and it’s a part of who they are. And by supporting girls and Girl Scouts, uh, you’re, you’re, you’re doing good on sustainability. So I’m just going to put that out there.

[Jason Moreau]
Yes. And you heard her say it, it’s time, treasure or talent, right?

[Sheldon Young]
Right.

[Jason Moreau]
You know, all the above, any, any organization would value your contribution of any of those three, right? Like it’s all meaningful and giving what you can give is important of any of those. Um, but yeah, to tie it back, I think, um, she mentioned that the, uh, the 2030 initiative that they were doing, one of the pillars was securing tomorrow.

And I thought that that was just such a succinct, beautiful way of, of not only defining what their mission is, but I mean, that is sustainability, right? Like that is securing tomorrow so that everybody has that future that they can enjoy the same way that we enjoy the present today. And they have the same accessibility and the resources and all of it.

So yeah. Wonderful interview. Really.

[Sheldon Young]
Yeah. Great, uh, great, great wrap up there, Jason. Yeah.

You landed the plane nicely. Thanks. Thank you for doing that.

Yeah. I like that. And if you like this, if you like the way that Jason just landed that plane, like a, like a, don’t expect it every episode, sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s so great when it does, you know, let’s see for the moment.

If you like this podcast, please like follow, subscribe, all those wonderful little things you can do, leave a comment, even let us know how great Jason is. And don’t say anything about me, uh, and share this with your network. Uh, this stuff really matters to the success of, of the podcast.

And, uh, if you have ideas, send them our way, whether it’s a guest or topic, uh, we just said nofootprints.podcast@alfalaval.com. Uh, Alfa Laval is A L F A L A V A L. And that is the company Jason and I work for who so kindly let us do this podcast and, uh, are pretty great themselves. Um, with that, Jason, I say we wrap this up and, uh, go have some girl scout cookies. What’s your favorite.

I never got to ask you that. What’s your favorite. Good question.

[Jason Moreau]
A boring answer. I’m classic thin mints all the way. I knew you were going to say polish off a box in one sitting.

I’m not ashamed to admit it. They’re delicious. I mean, if you, if you were to have samples of all of the other flavors, of course, I’m going to eat them.

If you’re asking me what I’m ordering, one has to go with you on a desert Island. It’s thin mints. It’s thin mints.

How about for you?

[Sheldon Young]
I’m a, um, the it’s again, they’re called two things because of two different bakeries, the Samoas or the caramel delights. Yeah.

[Jason Moreau]
That’s my number two. Those are great.

[Sheldon Young]
Oh my God. That’s that I, those I can, I can, oh my gosh. So, so many, so many get consumed.

That’s right. I can’t really have them too close to for too long, but they’re very good. Very good.

[Jason Moreau]
Good choice.

[Sheldon Young]
Yeah. All right.

All right. With that, let us say adieu. Goodbye.

[Jason Moreau]
Bye everyone.

[Sheldon Young]
Our guests come from many industries and companies, as we’re talking about how the world makes sustainability real. Our company Alfa Laval is a global supplier of process solutions.

So it’s very possible that the organizations our guests are with may use Alfa Laval or even our competitors’ products. But this does not mean that we, the hosts or Alfa Laval are endorsing any of the company’s guests or the specific ideas that we discuss.