🚀 Sylvia Acevedo, CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA (2016 to 2020)

From Rocket Scientist to launching 126 new STEM badge programs

Jul 25, 2024

Hello, It’s Julia, Founder of The Switchboard, a newsletter exploring the ways we communicate and connect at work and beyond. I have long admired the Girl Scouts. Growing up, I participated in the program as a Brownie. Earlier this year, I learned about Sylvia Acevedo’s story. Moved by her personal and professional path, I reached out to interview her. She graciously responded and the below is our conversation.

About Sylvia

Sylvia Acevedo is an eminent leader who has made an enduring impact across diverse industries, excelling in both corporate and public sectors as a pioneering trailblazer. Beginning her career as a rocket scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Sylvia's journey took her through executive roles at renowned companies such as Apple, Autodesk, Dell, and IBM. Sylvia currently serves on the Public company Corporate Board of Directors of Qualcomm and Credo Technologies.

From 2016 to 2020, she was the CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA, modernizing the organization with over 126 new STEM badge programs. Sylvia also served as a White House Commissioner during the Obama Administration. Sylvia authored the bestselling memoir, 'Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist,' promoting perseverance and self-determination.

Sylvia holds a Bachelor's degree with Honors in Industrial Engineering from New Mexico State University and a Master's engineering graduate degree from Stanford University, where she was one of the first Hispanics, male or female, to earn such a degree. Sylvia was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Washington College, and in 2022, Duke University awarded her an Honorary Doctorate of Science.

What sparked your path to become CEO of The Girl Scouts?

My family struggled a lot financially when I was growing up. Being a Girl Scout helped me to be confident, learned leadership skills and importantly, as someone who grew up with financial challenges, I learned how to create opportunity. From selling cookies I learned about resilience — never walk away from a sale until you’ve heard no three times. But I also loved counting the cookies — it was fun math at a young age. I joke that I got so good at cookie math that I became a rocket scientist.

You started your career as a NASA Rocket Scientist, what do you believe set you up for success?

One of the differentiators in my career was when I was young, I was very competitive with my older brother. My father was a very traditional Mexican father who favored my brother. Because of that, I was so competitive with my brother that I wanted to do everything he did and I believed I could. Then through Girl Scouts, one of my favorite activities was making a rocket. After failing at least six times, I was finally successful and launched the homemade Estes rocket.

Years later, when I looked at everybody at the time working at NASA or IBM that was involved in the Space Program, they were male — they didn't look like me, but because I had that experience with my older brother, I believed I could do it. That mindset really helped me to see and create opportunity in a way that has allowed me to be a trailblazer in my field.

As you look back, what is a pivotal project that's shaped your career?

When I joined the Girl Scouts, one of the main things parents would say to me is I don't want my daughter to just sell cookies and make macaroni necklaces. So I really focused on how we could create the badges that allow the badge programs to be relevant to girls. I wanted to ensure girls have those digital skills. I didn't want girls just to be the users of technology, but the creators, inventors and designers of it. I decided to look for partners to help develop badges and ultimately created the most badges ever — 146 — during my tenure. They include topics such as robotics, coding, automotive, space, design thinking, cyber security as well as civics, entrepreneurship and outdoor leadership.

The curriculum for these badges was created in a way that is interesting, relevant and engaging. For example with cyber security, we teach girls about a network and malware by sitting in a circle talking and passing yarn. As the string is criss-crossed to every girl, they can see the physical network that’s created. Then, we introduced the concept that if one girl (node) had a virus how easily it could spread to everyone on the network because they were all interconnected. As a result of making programming relevant, we had a huge uptick in badges earned.

Since we launched this program, I’ve heard from young women who have gone on to college to become Engineers, Biologists, and of course Cybersecurity leaders. Once, when I was speaking in Birmingham, Alabama, two families came up to me after my talk and wanted to thank me. Their daughters had been Girl Scouts and had just received 4 year full ride scholarships to college because they wrote their college essay about their cybersecurity skills. It was a rural area of Alabama and no one else was teaching these cyber skills, but us. The family shared that this wouldn’t have been possible without her Girl Scout experience. I loved leading an organization that had this ability to truly change lives.

What are the skills needed for leaders to be great communicators?

It’s an important skill for leaders to speak confidently in front of people. I started my career as an engineer and I had to spend a lot of time working on developing speaking skills. I remember the first time I spoke in front of a group of kids at an elementary school, they were very bored and they didn't even ask me one question.

What helped me with my speaking skills is to learn how to be a better story teller. It’s important to have a relevant narrative and to answer the who, what, why and when you are trying to communicate and motivate. This skill was critical when I was at Girl Scouts and we were fundraising to develop all of the new badges .

What value matters most to you?

Integrity matters a lot. For me, number one is someone's character — how you act in the world and how you treat people is a really important part of their character. When I'm thinking about who I'm working for or with, I want to make sure that my character and values align with them.

What's a hack or habit that grounds you in life and/or work?

I run my life by a spreadsheet everyday. I list the six most important things that I need to do that day — this provides me discipline and organization. I also organize it by month so I can have an overview of the year. I list all of my different activities, it’s nerdy and great for me as it keeps me focused on what matters and is a great way to manage my time.

Can you choose a favorite cookie flavor?

All the cookies are amazing, but I happen to be a big fan of thin mints — there’s something about the smell when you open the package. It’s like aroma therapy for me.

What about you? What’s your favorite Girl Scout cookie or part of Sylvia’s story? Let me know below.

The Switchboard