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Anna Maria Chávez
Former CEO of Girl Scouts USA, Chief Impact Officer at Encantos, Public Service Leader
Anna Maria Chávez developed the leadership skills growing up in Eloy, Arizona, that would propel her into a career of public service. Her desire to transform the world through servant leadership led her to Yale University, before pursuing a juris doctorate at the University of Arizona. She held numerous posts in President Bill Clinton's administration, and later returned to Arizona to serve then-governor Janet Napolitano. Her success led to her appointment as the CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA where she served from 2011 to 2016. In 2016, Anna was named one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune magazine, cited for her vision and creativity in working to revitalize the Girl Scout brand for a new century.
In April 2017, Chávez joined the National Council on Aging (NCOA), our nation’s oldest advocacy organization dedicated to helping Americans navigate the challenges of aging, as their Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Vice President of External Affairs. Less than a year later, Chávez was promoted to the leadership role of NCOA's Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer where she led the day-to-day operations of NCOA and the national team in advancing the organization’s mission to improve the health and economic security of 10 million older adults by 2020. She was ultimately appointed to serve as NCOA’s Interim President and Chief Executive Officer. On June 1, 2020, Chávez became the Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer of the National School Boards Association (NSBA) and served as an ex-officio director on its Board of Directors.
In 2021, Chávez was appointed as the inaugural Chief Impact Officer and President of Encantos.org at Encantos, focusing on 21st-century learning, literacy, and life skills for children. Forbes magazine named Chávez one of the 50 over 50 women leaders in June 2021 for her leadership in public education. Her transformative work has been recognized with several honors including induction into the U.S. News & World Report’s STEM Leadership Hall of Fame and receiving the 2013 Excellence in Community Service Award from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Chávez continues to be an influential voice in discussions on women's leadership, youth development, aging, and the economic impact of investing in women and girls.
Videos
Speech Topics
Leading Transformational Change– Secrets of successful leaders
As we move forward into a new decade, everyone will be confronted with opportunities to lead transformational change for ourselves and our organizations. We will also have to take on a more concerted effort to inspire leadership at all levels of organizations and communities. For all stakeholders to believe that change is necessary, we must show the urgency for change and why change is necessary.
But people don’t follow taglines or winning proposition statements. They follow leaders who walk the talk and inspire the behavioral change that is necessary. In order to assist you in leading this transformational change, Anna has assembled powerful insights for anyone who wants to be successful in leading and thriving in their lives.
The Economic Impact of Investing in Women and Girls
Through her own experience growing up as a girl of color in a low-income family, Anna knows what it’s like to face personal, cultural and economic challenges. And she recognizes how difficult it is for today’s girls to feel confident enough to imagine their future, as they encounter everything from social-media-driven peer-pressure, to societal constructs that subtly and overtly question their worth. Unfortunately, girls and women turn down power and do not self-Identify as leaders – even when in a leadership position – and are less likely to positively recognize other female leaders. The current 14-billion-dollar leadership-training industry is failing to produce quality leaders across sectors. So it’s no wonder that 86% of people believe we are facing a leadership crisis. But Anna has some solutions to redefine the image of a successful leader and how to change the leadership pipeline in this country.
Fail and fail spectacularly, because if you don’t fail, you’re not innovating
Anna Maria Chavez has experienced the highs and lows of leadership. As the first women of color in many roles in her career, she has led a national conversation about women and the need to invest in equity and inclusion in our society. Recounting her personal narrative and lessons learned in this compelling and dynamic presentation, Anna also weaves in stories of other accomplished women who have overcome roadblocks and forged new paths—women who have similarly learned to live an authentic life by taking risks, failing and picking themselves up to inspire others to do the same. Offering tools to improve resiliency and self-awareness to tackle new opportunities, Anna inspires and energizes audience members to pursue their passion and help reshape the future our country.
Women and Leadership
Thanks to the “Year of the Woman” in 2018, we saw more women run for political office and make a prominent mark on our political dialogue. But, despite the promising progress that’s been made thus far, there’s still significant work to be done. Let’s discuss how we can support more women to take on leadership roles in their community, in their jobs and in politics and how gender affects every organization, every community, and every legislative battle.
Lead like a Girl Scout – Lessons for Everyday Leadership
When she was appointed as the first woman of color to lead the Girl Scouts of the USA, the organization was experiencing serious membership decline and lack of relevancy. But with determination and grit, Anna led the Girl Scouts to become one of the top 10 most innovative nonprofits in the world, and Chávez earned recognition as one of the top 50 world leaders. Anna shares her experiences and lessons learned leading a 100-year-old legacy organization into a new century and practical advice for anyone interested in leading in these turbulent and exciting times.
Gender Equality - Why does it matter?
Do you feel that? That's the cultural shift that's happening because women are creating modern-day movements towards real change now. And it's a real necessity, because when you look at the latest statistics, we still have a long way to go. Today, just 57 percent of the world's working-age women are in the labor force, compared to 70 percent of working-age men. Women with full-time jobs still earn only about 77 percent of their male counterparts' earnings. And 62 million girls are denied an education all over the world. While women have made important inroads into political office across the world, their representation in national parliaments at 23.7 per cent is still far from parity. Let’s discuss why we, as a country and as global citizens, must change these statistics.
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