Venus Chaney
Girl Scouts Heart of the South (GSHS) has announced Venus Chaney, as its new CEO. A 20-year milestone of advocacy and resilience is what Venus has embodied through leadership and development for girls.
As the first CEO to rise through the ranks of Girl Scouts in over 20 years, Venus has been a consummate advocate for girls by way of her expertise to employ innovative practices that have successfully increased member growth and engagement.
“After interviewing many candidates during a six-month national search, the board of directors and I unanimously determined that Venus was the best and most qualified candidate to serve as our new CEO,” said Lori Patton, GSHS board chair. "We are excited about the future of Girl Scouts under her leadership.”
Venus joined GSHS in 2002, as a field executive. She became the organization’s chief operations officer, and most recently, chief development and advocacy officer where she has played a critical role in connecting with community leaders and leveraging relationships leading to increased community support, volunteer engagement, funding, and agency visibility.
A native South Memphian, Venus attributes her grit and determination to learning how to navigate the challenges of growing up in a community that lacked resources and opportunities for youth, and to the love, support, and encouragement of family and mentors. She lives by a commitment of providing girls with unique skill-building experiences to prepare them for the future. “All girls need access and exposure to meaningful opportunities that help them grow and thrive and look beyond their immediate surroundings,” says Venus. “When girls and young women thrive, our communities thrive.”
As CEO, Venus will oversee fundraising, operations, programming, and community engagement to ensure the organization is fulfilling its mission of building girls of courage, confidence, and character throughout its 59-county jurisdiction.
“Girl Scouts gives girls the tools they need to navigate the world - from the simplest to the more complex,” Venus states. “It’s our mission. It’s our privilege. It’s why we’re here. It’s why I’m here. I’ve dedicated my career to youth development. I am so honored and proud to lead Girl Scouts Heart of the South as we continue to help girls explore new interests, cultivate positive values, develop a strong social conscience, build higher self-esteem, access life-changing adventures, and gain critical life skills.”
Lauren Hobson
Directly impacted by GSHS is this year’s Gold Award recipient, Lauren Hobson, Ambassador Girl Scout and senior at White Station High School. Gold Award Scouts use everything they’ve learned as a Girl Scout to help fix a problem in their community or make a lasting change in their world. Any Girl Scout who wants to get involved and go for the Gold Award works with a team of trusted adults and leaders in their community to guide them through challenges and lead them to success, step-by-step. Lauren’s Gold Award project addressed stress in adolescents. Utilizing research and studying factors that influence stress in kids - family environment, academic stress, and interpersonal relationships - she surmised that coping styles are usually learned early on from family and are reinforced by same-aged peers.
Her project promotes the availability and awareness of tools that can be used to cope effectively at an earlier age. “The goal of my Gold Project is to provide resources in ‘ReSet Rooms’ across Memphis Shelby County Schools that will teach students mindfulness skills that will alleviate anxiety and allow them to return to class,” Lauren states. Her end result is a strategy she calls “The Core Five: Embodiment, Safe Spaces, Movement, Breathing, and Redirection.” Lauren designed unique cartoon superheroes that personify each of these five methods of de-escalation accompanied by a curriculum for teachers and counselors to follow with students. “By implementing ‘ReSet’ rooms at younger ages, children are introduced to healthy coping at an earlier age,” says Lauren. “The project serves as an early intervention to improve the mental health of future adolescents.”
Lauren’s project has been proven to be an impact in the community as her ReSet resources and curriculum are being reproduced and implemented in multiple schools within the Memphis Shelby County Schools District.
With over 100 councils nationwide, Girl Scouts of the USA has a presence in every zip code. Each new investment enables Girl Scouts to become a unifier at the broadest level, harnessing the leadership skills of generations to come and ensuring a future that is inclusive, empathetic, united, and equitable. For more information about Girl Scouts Heart of the South, visit girlscoutshs.org.