National

Ho-Chunk Nation woman named president of Girl Scouts board






Kathy Hopinkah Hannan

Kathy Hopinkah Hannan, a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin, has been named president of the national board of the Girl Scouts.

Hannan, a Girl Scouts alumna whose two daughters also went through the program, is the first Native American in the post. She is the highest-ranking volunteer member of the Girl Scouts.

"I am extremely honored and excited to have been selected by the delegates of the Girl Scout Movement to serve as National Board President to GSUSA," Hannan said in a press release. "The opportunities presented to girls today have never been greater, but the challenges they face have also never been more difficult to overcome. That is why the Girl Scout mission remains so vitally important in today's world."

"Kathy's unique insight, experience, and determination to move the needle for girls is evident in everything she does," added Anna Maria Chávez, the chief executive officer of the Girl Scouts. "As a woman of Native American descent, she is familiar with the struggles girls face, and is uniquely positioned to serve as a role model and mentor to those who aspire to leadership, regardless of their background."

Hannan is the national managing partner of diversity and corporate responsibility at KPMG in Chicago, Illinois. She is a past board member of the Anti-Defamation League, the Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation, The Chicago Network, and Loras College.

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