the city's liaison for the Commission on the Assess of Women. So on behalf of our commissioners, we'd
like to welcome you today to our 41st annual Women's History Month luncheon.
to have you here for an afternoon of celebration as we present our 2026 Women's Achievement Award winners
and enjoy a keynote address from the amazing CEO of Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, Dina Potter. Before
we begin, we wanted to take the time to recognize that what we are celebrating today is only possible
because of the generations of women before us who fought sacrificed organized marched supported one
another and lifted one another up. We are grateful for their steadfast courage and strength and carry
their determination forward in the work that we do today. We would also like to take a moment to acknowledge
the land beneath our feet. The city of Bloomington stands on the traditional homelands of the Miami Delaware
and Shawnee peoples, and we honor them as past and present caretakers. We also acknowledge that Indiana's
growth, including here in Bloomington, was shaped by the unpaid labor and forced servitude of people
of color, especially enslaved Africans. So as we gather today, let us remember these people and all
these pieces of our history, and may their lessons continue to help guide us into the future.
It is my pleasure to introduce you to the chair of the Commission on the Status of Women, Landry Culp.
Hello. Thank you, Marissa. And thank you all for being here today and joining us to celebrate the incredible
work women are doing in our Bloomington community.
My name is Landry Culp and I serve as the chair of the Commission on the Status of Women or BCSW. The
BCSW is dedicated to advocating for equity and improving opportunities for all who embrace a female
identity. We do this by monitoring and reviewing policies and legislation on the federal, state, and
local levels and engaging with our community to understand the needs of women. Our commission welcomes
everyone who identifies as a woman and those who feel our women-focused environment aligns with their values.
If you'd like to stay connected with the commission, please take a moment to scan the QR code on your
table and fill out the brief survey so we can share updates and opportunities with you. When Marissa
welcomed us earlier, she mentioned a remarkable milestone, 41 years. For more than four decades, this
luncheon has provided a space
to encourage connection, build community, and celebrate the women who give their time and their mental,
physical, and emotional energy to move our city forward. Spaces like this, this commission, this gathering,
and all of you who support it are important now more than ever. As the BCSW and with the support from
you all, we are able to amplify voices, stand up for women's rights, and help create a community where
the next generation of girls can truly thrive.
In that spirit, the commission would like to take a moment to remember our good friend and most feared
supporter, Charlotte Zietlow. Many of you know that Charlotte passed away in November of last year.
What you may not know is that in 1973, while serving as city council president, Charlotte introduced
ordinance 73-81. The following year that ordinance was approved, creating the commission on the status of women.
While the founding of our commission was just one of Charlotte's many contributions to Bloomington,
it is one for which we are especially grateful. Her vision made this work possible. Charlotte attended
many of these luncheons over the years, including just last year. Today we honor her legacy and her
commitment to the BCSW by wearing our Charlotte inspired hats. You may have also noticed that we have
a small memorial table and honor located off to the side of the stage over here.
where we have included a binder of original documents and photographs from the 1996 Women's History
Month luncheon when Charlotte herself was named Women of the Year. If you hadn't had a chance to visit
the memorial table, we invite you to do so after the program. Thank you for showing up and supporting
the work that she had the vision and inspiration to start. Her legacy lives on in so many ways. So I
close here by saying thank you. Thank you all for being here to celebrate
women, past, present, and future. Next, please join me as I welcome Mayor Carrie Thompson to the stage.
Hi, Bloomington and Bloomington women supporters. How are you this afternoon? Come on, come on.
It's spring outside, we have to act a little happier. We like to find hope wherever we can in the world
today. And it is my great honor to be with you for yet another Women's History Month luncheon. This
is perhaps my favorite city-sponsored event of the year because this is the event that celebrates
some of the people who otherwise remain invisible to us. And when we go through Black History Month,
Women's History Month, our Latino Culture Month, these are the moments when we honor the stories that
so frequently go untold and we see the people
that make up our community every day. Thank you to the Commission on the Status of Women for all that
you do to get us here year round and lifting up our women's voices year round. And before we begin,
I want to recognize the women elected officials who are here today. And by that I mean, if you are a
woman and you have ever
been an elected official because I see some retired elected official women out there. Please stand and
let us give you a round of applause. Thank you for your service.
I also want to just take a moment to ask, and some people will be standing twice, if you are a woman
and you're currently running for office, could you please stand up? Asia. My deep thanks to each of
you for running for office. It is a courageous move.
No matter what the outcome, I thank you for stepping forward and for your leadership in leading a campaign.
One last round of applause. If you have been named a woman of the year in the past,
I know there's lots of us. I said this morning, once you're a woman of the year, you're always woman
of the year. You don't lose the crown. Could you please stand?
For the rest of you who are female in this room, I would like to see you standing during part of these
applause in coming years. Pick your passion. Run for office. Let us name you Women of the Year. Step
forward in leadership in whatever way that you see fit and that you feel called. This year's theme is
Women Shaping a Sustainable Future.
want to make that real today. A sustainable future is about more than what we're doing just for the
climate around us, but it is certainly about that. It is about everything that continues because of
us. It's whether the people coming behind you have a clearer path, have more support, and more opportunity
than we did. At its core, sustainability is personal.
and it shows up in everyday life. It's about whether your life works, whether your community works.
It's about whether the systems around you support you or expect you to meekly work around them. Let's
be clear. Women have been sustaining things long before we started calling it sustainability. Families,
workplaces, friendships, communities,
Group chats, households, calendars, carpools. It's an entire ecosystem of coordination and care. We
build networks without ever calling them networks. We mentor without titles. We create pathways without
always realizing that we've done it. That is leadership.
And that is what creates and sustains a community in the end. And at a moment like this, that kind of
leadership truly matters. We're living through a time when people see what happens when power concentrates
and overwhelms. Our voices get pushed out. Decisions move further away from the people that they affect.
It's felt in our daily lives.
in our communities, and in our sense of whether we belong in the future that we're building. In moments
like this, the answer is not to step back. It's to lean in. It's to protect participation, to expand
who gets heard, and to make sure leadership reflects the entire community.
This is not a time when we go back to playing a game we've been trying to reestablish rules for for
centuries. It's a time when we see that real progress is not bullying our way into a decision. It is
bringing people along and decisively leading. That requires women, because women lead with a wide lens.
More people get seen, heard, and have a fair shot because we have learned new ways of listening, specifically
in order to be heard. And we tend to set our ground rules accordingly. Women understand what it takes
to hold things together and to move them forward at the same time. That baby can certainly stay. His
voice is welcome in our room.
He doesn't want to stay, he doesn't have to though, but he's certainly not bothering me. We know as
women what it means to carry responsibility and to juggle many things at one time. We pay attention,
we anticipate needs, and women carry a deep
understanding of what it means to sustain life in all of its forms. That perspective allows a community
to thrive. A sustainable future requires potential to keep moving. It can't wait on luck or timing,
and it certainly can't wait for permission. It has to move from one person to another, generation to
generation.
In Bloomington, we focus on unlocking potential. That matters because potential on its own is never
enough. We all see what happens when potential gets stuck. Potential can sit quietly for years. It sits
in the back. It lives in the background of somebody's life. And it looks like someone doing everything
right and still wondering if that's enough.
Some of us are waiting for the right moment, the right signal, or simply the right kind of encouragement
to come forward. We all know people, and we certainly have been those people, who were capable of more
but didn't have a clear way in. Sometimes we don't have a clear way in until something shifts. And more
often than not, what shifts isn't a system
It's a human being. It's an individual who says, come sit here, try this, or I see something in you.
And if you think about your own life, you can probably name that person. I hope you can name several
of those people. One who opened the door, one who made space at a table, one who spoke your name in
a room that you weren't in yet.
the one who didn't wait for you to be perfectly ready, who saw something in you before it was fully
formed, and treated you like you already mattered. For me, that person was Charlotte Zietlow. I had
no idea that the grand dame of the Democratic Party in Bloomington even knew my name, but she called it.
by calling me on the telephone and asking me to come see her one summer afternoon 10 years ago for a
gin and tonic. Now Charlotte had a heavy pour. So if you've been to her house in the past, you likely
would know that. But I was careful not to drink that beverage that Charlotte poured me, to keep my wits
about me because
Anyone who's been in Charlotte's presence in the past will know that she will push you and try to get
you to agree to things. Charlotte, on that day, told me that I needed to run for mayor. I simply laughed.
I was not a mayor, nor was I a politician. I was in community development, and I was super happy leading
in that realm.
But that one conversation and Charlotte's renowned relentless persistence began my wondering, how could
I remain true to my roots in community development and run for office? And why weren't those two things
always inextricably linked?
That moment may have felt small at the time. I don't know if Charlotte felt like she was shouting into
a void and she had a parade of people coming to her house, asking them to run for office. But for me,
it changed the direction of what I thought was possible. And when that happens across a community, again
and again, across different spaces, across different people, that's
when something much larger takes hold. That's when sustainability begins to show up in a real way, in
a lived way. If we are not actively unlocking potential, we are unintentionally leaving it behind. We
are missing people who could lead, build, solve, and stay if only they were brought in sooner.
We are taking for granted our greatest community asset, our human gifts. And Bloomington cannot afford
that. If we want to be a place where people build lives, not just pass through, we have to make it clear
that there is space for them here. There is space for everyone here, and it's particularly important
that we are looking not only for white cisgendered straight women, that we are looking for women of
color, women who are LGBTQ plus. We are looking for women who don't yet have that leadership crown on
their head, who don't have a title, because those are the women who likely
have gifts that are hiding in the shadows. You are how potential lives in this community and how potential
moves in this community. And no matter your gender, you play a role in that, in seeing women, supporting
women, and in creating space for leadership to emerge and grow. Whether you are mentoring the next generation
or literally raising them,
Standing alongside someone in their work or stepping into something new yourself, you are shaping what
comes next for Bloomington. That is how a sustainable future is built and that is the kind of future
we are building together in Bloomington. Thank you for being here and thank you for being a part of
this important work.
Thank you, Mayor Thompson. We appreciate you being here and showing up for our commission and the work
that we do. Thank you. My name is Nicole Bennett, and I'm a commissioner on the Bloomington Commission
on the Status of Women. I'm really excited to bring us to the next part of our program, which is the
awards. This is the part where we get to honor and celebrate incredible women who are doing work for
women and girls in our community.
With this, the commission will recognize the 2026 Women's Achievement Award winners, which includes
the Young Woman of the Year, the Toby Strout Lifetime Contribution, and the Woman of the Year. To kick
off the awards presentation, I'll pass it over to the BCSW's high school liaison and my stepdaughter,
Bella Bennett. Thank you, Nicole.
My name is Bella Bennett. I am the High School Liaison for the Commission on the Status of Women, and
I'm excited to present the Young Woman of the Year Award. This award recognizes a young woman between
the ages of 11 and 18 years who has already, at a young age, impacted girls and women's issues in the
community. This year, the Young Woman of the Year is Isla Sorabi-Nia.
She is a senior at Bloomington High School North and is passionate about giving back to her community
and dedicating herself to matters related to women. Isla is co-president of Project Middle Way at BHSN,
which is affiliated with Middle Way House, a local nonprofit dedicated to supporting survivors of domestic
violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking.
Project Middle Way exists to give high school students voice and advocacy as well as plan, as well as
a place to learn about body positivity and healthy relationships. ILA has been instrumental
in the organization fundraisers such as annual fashion show and clothing drives where all proceeds and
donations go directly to Middle Way House. ILA is also an intern at Amplify Bloomington, president of
the BHSN Habitat for Humanity Club, president of BHSN Cougar
care meals and co-president of her graduating class for the past three years. She is a wonderful example
of what it means to be a strong young woman who advocates for others. Please join us in honoring Isla
Sorabinia.
Thank you so much. I'd like to quickly thank the commission on the status of women and the
city of Bloomington for enabling women to be celebrated and recognized for all of our achievements.
I'd also like to thank my family friends and teachers for all their support. Thank you.
I am Carrie Stillions, Executive Director of Middle Way House and BCSW Commissioner. I am so proud to
announce this next award named for former Middle Way House Executive Director and former BCSW Commissioner,
Toby Strout. The Toby Strout Lifetime Contribution Award recognizes a woman,
whose work significantly advances the status of women through leadership and through service. This year's
winner is a woman who leads with compassion, inclusivity, and an unwavering commitment to her community
by ensuring access to nutritious food and essential items without judgment or barriers.
Please join me in recognizing Executive Director of Pantry 279, Cindy Chavez.
What started as a Small Girl Scout project has now transformed under Cindy's leadership into one of
the most vital and high impact organizations in our area. Each month, Pantry 279 serves thousands of
families in over 39 counties who are facing food insecurity. Many of these families are led by women
balancing the stressors of caregiving, work, and finances.
In addition to addressing food insecurity, Cindy has created programs that support children year round,
including holiday assistance initiatives and partnerships that provide feminine hygiene products. Cindy's
impact on women and girls in our community has been profound by helping maintain health, stability,
and dignity during difficult times.
In the words of one of Cindy's nominators, Cindy's work reflects the very best of community leadership,
quiet, consistent, and deeply human. She advocates for those who are often overlooked, including single
mothers, caregivers, teenage girls, ensuring not only access to food and essential items,
but a sense of belonging. Congratulations, Cindy, on this well-deserved award. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you, my family, of course. The girls who started it, the one whose mouth started it.
my incredible staff, board members, volunteers, and honestly, we wouldn't be here today without all
of you and the community supporting us and welcoming the pantry and letting us survive. So thank you
all so much, and thank you for dealing with my grandson.
Congratulations, Cindy. Good afternoon or morning. Hi, my name is Tanora Sapp. I'm a proud Girl Scout
troop co-leader, proud MCCSE teacher, proud Latina, proud commissioner of the Commission on Hispanic
and Latina Affairs.
Thank you. I have an honor here today to present the Woman of the Year Award, which is presented to
a woman who has improved the quality of life for other women through inspiration, community service,
or professional accomplishments. The 2026 Woman of the Year is Dr. Christine Belz.
Dr. Felix is an AP Biology and introductory science teacher at Bloomington High School South, where
she also serves as a STEAM coach and mentor. She's especially committed to mentoring young women in
STEM, including seven young women who were recently named the 2025 national winners in the Samsung Solve
for Tomorrow STEM Innovation Competition, and whose project was featured at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Dr. Milks also currently serves as head coach of Bloomington South's Science Olympia team and has volunteered
her time to guide student-led innovation teams, which have developed creative community-oriented solutions.
Her work has created spaces, classroom teams, where young women learn to see themselves as scientists,
innovators, and leaders, and where their ideas are encouraged and valued.
In addition, Dr. Mills is a core volunteer and central organizer of the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana
and leads an intentionally inclusive multi-age troop in Monroe County. She is instrumental in organizing
many educational and entrepreneurial events for the Girl Scout community, such as the Fourth of July
Parade and the Cookie Rally. Look at your cookies, which she leads with passion and excitement.
In 2024, she was named Girl Scouts of Central Indiana Leader of the Year. Dr. Milks is a pillar and
a role model in our community, showing girls what it looks like to live with integrity, compassion,
and courage. As one of her nominators wrote, through her own example and constant encouragement, she
showed me that barriers are meant to be challenged. Ultimately, Dr. Milks inspired me to dream bigger,
with empathy and believe in myself. As a personal note, Kiki, her camp name, has made an impact not
only on my professional and personal life, but more importantly on my daughter's experience as a student
at Bloomington High School South and as a Girl Scout. We are so happy to be together to be part of this
celebration and to count her as a colleague, Girl Scout sister, and friend.
Please join me in congratulating the 2026 One of the Year, Dr. Kirsten Milks. Hi. I just wanted to start
by saying that I know a lot of people in the room, and you're awesome. And I think that
The most important thing for me as I've been thinking about what it looks like to authentically engage
and empower youth are kind of three things. So the first one, Mayor Kerry, are you still here? Like
you said the thing, so I'm just going to echo it and I'm thankful for that. That the work that happens,
projects are dependent on people.
and the relationships that they make and the mentorship and the space. So because I have a lot of people
in the room who have care taken and meant a lot to me on my journey to empowering kids with a focus
in Girl Scouts on women and girls, I'd like you to think of somebody who was important to you. And if
you feel so moved in a moment, I'd like their name
out of you in this room so that we can have a large collection of the people who have supported and
mentored us. So I'm going to go first, because I get to. There are a lot of people here that I have
taught and loved. But a person I've been thinking a lot about is Katura, who's in the back of my room.
She's a 2021 BHSS graduate. And she is a huge part of what has taught me about
what it means to be a young person today and what's possible for incredible young people. So who's your
Keturah? Ready? Three, two, one. Toby Strout. Yeah. And a lot of other names too. So Charlotte. Charlotte.
And like my mother-in-law, who drove all the way from Indianapolis to be here today, when we think about
what is next and how we build a sustainable, high-impact, humane, collaborative future, it is those
relationships and understanding what's possible.
And that's why I'm so thankful to be in our school corporation, to have worked with your amazing kids,
to Dr. Winston for her exceptional leadership and care, and to the school board. I mean, it is such
a joy to come to school every day and to go to our Girl Scout meetings and to be in community with Girl
Scouts and the adults who care take them and to just see what's
And to that end, I'm so thankful that in a moment we're going to get to hear from Dina, our wonderful
new CEO of Girl Scouts of Central Indiana. I just, what's magical for me about Girl Scouts is not just
the people you see in their vests and their tabs, it's the adults and the families
and getting to know a little bit more about the amazing things that are happening in our community.
And those stories aren't mine to share, right? I know a lot of things about what have happened for girls
and women and kids in general as they go on their way and learn to be leaders. You should know that
behind the scenes, there are women making real
differences. And in fact, for everybody who's up here on the stage, there are people like Heather and
Christy and Jenny, who are then my co-servant unit managers. There are people who have stopped to say
hi to you when your kids were rampaging in the yard. Victoria, where are you dear? Right? Like, I just,
it really, Bloomington is such a beautiful place because we have built and continue to build these welcoming
and warm connections.
and I feel really thankful to be a part of it. And last but not least, Cindy, I've been fangirling you
for a long time, and my troop has a donation in my trunk to give to the food pantry, so. Thanks everybody
so much. It means a lot, and I'm very thankful to be here.
Can we give another round of applause for our 2026 Women Achievement Award winners? You all are true
examples of leadership, advocacy, and empowerment, and we are forever indebted to you in the ways that
you improve the lives of women and girls in our community.
My name is Shayla George and I am a BCSW Commissioner and a 2026 500 Festival Princess and I am pleased
to introduce our 2026 keynote speaker Dina Potter. Dina is the Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts
of Central Indiana the nation's 15th largest Girl Scout Council supporting more than 15,000 Girl Scouts
in 45 counties across the heart of our state.
She has served Girl Scouts of Central Indiana for 27 years, most recently holding the role of Chief
Operating Officer before being named CEO of January of this year. With a leadership grounded in authenticity,
collaboration, and a belief in the power of girls to be change makers,
Dina has advanced the mission of Girl Scouts through strategic initiatives and leadership at both the
local and national levels. A trusted innovator and proven servant leader, Dina has helped shape and
grow Girl Scouting across central Indiana by strengthening community partnerships and building programs
that empower girls with courage, confidence, and the character to lead. Please join us in welcoming
Dina Potterf.
Hello, Bloomington. Oh, my goodness. This feels like Girl Scout Day. And I am here for it. I am here
for it. Thank you so much for having me. I'm not sure if you know I'm a proud Purdue graduate.
And so thanks. Thank you, Bloomington, for that warm welcome. Love that. Love that. Right? So here we
go. It is such an honor to be with you here today for Women's History Month.
And today I'm going to share more about the power of mentorship to grow sustainable leadership in women.
And it sounds like, and I know we do, have quite a few folks in this room who have wonderful experience
developing future leaders. First to get us started, if you are a Girl Scout or a Girl Scout alum, if
you're able, will you please stand? All my Girl Scouts, Girl Scout alum. Look at that. Look at that.
It's more than half the room. Thank you, thank you. You may be seated.
Okay. So I'd like to begin with a picture from nature. In forestry studies, there's something called
a mother tree. She's often the largest, most mature tree in the forest, but her real power isn't in
stretching highest towards the sun. Her power is in what you cannot see under the surface. Beneath the
soil, she's connected to saplings and struggling plants through a vast, invisible network.
Through that network, she sends nutrients, shares resources, and transmits chemical signals to help
the young trees grow and help the whole forest stay resilient. She gives what she has quietly, steadily,
intentionally, so the forest thrives long after she's gone. That to me is a perfect metaphor for what
girls need today and for what we are called to do.
If you've ever planted a young tree, you know it needs extra care at the beginning. More water, more
protection, sometimes even a stake to help it grow up towards the sun. Girls and emerging leaders are
no different. Early support matters. Encouragement matters. Having someone steady beside you in those
early moments can shape everything that comes next. We, as advocates for women and girls, are stewards
rooted in community, connected beneath the surface in ways that are often invisible, but always powerful.
And we can be that system of support, linking our resources to help the next generation of leaders thrive
and reach their full potential. Women have always been powerful stewards of the future, often quietly
and consistently through presence and mentorship. And I know many of you in the room regularly mentor
girls. We've been talking about it this morning.
Whether it's in your professional role as an educator, a business leader, or public servant, or in a
personal capacity as a caregiver or family or community member. Can I see a show of hands? How many
of you are educators? Where are educators in the room? I know, I know you're here. Thank you, thank
you so much for that. That's right, that's right. We have no idea what they do, I guarantee you. How
many of you are caregivers? Where are my moms, dads, grandparents, right?
So how many of you work with girls in another capacity? That's probably everybody else, right? We all
touch in some way. So many of you in the room likely already know this. Girls in Indiana are navigating
complex challenges, and they're also incredibly resilient. The Indiana Girl Report, we're in our third
year for that, gives us data and direction. When we look at what girls in Indiana are telling us, one
theme rises to the surface. They need connection.
They need that understory beneath the forest, the support system that helps them grow strong enough
to weather the challenges that they face. Here's what we know. Potential and pressure live side by side.
Hoosier girls have unlimited potential, yet they're facing disproportionate challenges compared to their
male peers. But they're real bright spots, too. Girls in Indiana continue to lead boys in earning more
A's. Their dropout rate continues to decline, now under 5%.
Right? And the graduation rate is more than one and a half percentage points higher than the national
average, the highest rate in the past decade. But our girls are facing real challenges too. Ours is
not just a girl issue. It's a workforce issue, a mental health issue, and a leadership pipeline issue
that touches every sector of the state. And most importantly, the Indiana Girl Report is about listening
to girls, not assuming we know what they need.
If we want to understand how girls see the world and how the world sees them, we have to start listening
to their voices. The Indiana Girl Report offers the most comprehensive, research-based view of the realities
facing girls in Indiana. It integrates state and national data alongside insights from girls themselves.
It surfaces urgent themes like mental health, mental health and anxiety, body image and self-esteem,
leadership confidence,
academic and career aspirations, and the influence of social media. It highlights strengths as much
as challenges, because data without solutions can become a deficit story. As we like to say, this report
doesn't just highlight gaps, it highlights their potential. Here's some key findings in the Indiana
Girl Report. Girls are carrying a heavy mental load. The report also highlights something every adult
in this room probably sees every day.
Girls are growing up in a world that never turns off. They tell us the pressure to be perfect is relentless.
And the comparison machine of social media only amplifies it. Compared with boys, girls report higher
rates of bullying and cyberbullying. In fact, bullying at two times the rate of boys and cyberbullying
at three times. With female bullying up 30%, 30% in the past year. Right? This isn't just the data.
It's a signal that tells us that we need active engagement to help girls move forward. So one key takeaway,
we cannot talk about academic achievement, leadership, or career pathways without addressing mental
health head on. Many girls are spending hours a day online and that constant noise can sometimes lead
to deeper feelings of anxiety or isolation. But here's the paradox. Connection is both the challenge
and the solution.
Because what girls are really craving isn't more notifications. It's meaningful relationships. They
want to be truly seen. Hoosier girls have a leadership confidence gap. We see confidence dip in middle
school, a time of intense identity formation. Many girls hesitate to call themselves leaders, even when
they are already leading. The issue isn't talent or capability. The issue is support, access to role
models, to real responsibility,
to spaces where mistakes are treated as data, not destiny. Another key takeaway, leadership is not a
title you wait to be given. It's a practice you grow, like roots, through opportunities to use your
voice and try hard things with people who've got your back. Our girls are also struggling with body
image and self worth. Body dissatisfaction now begins at younger ages, and it's directly linked to mental
health and participation.
When a girl doesn't feel confident in her own skin, it limits everything else. Whether she raises her
hand, joins a team, tries robotics, or volunteers to lead, she has to be confident and comfortable in
who she is. Here's another key takeaway. Programs that build healthy self-talk, media literacy, and
body neutrality are not extras. They are prerequisites for participation in life. But there is hope.
Indiana's girls are resilient
Here's the part I want to shout from the rooftops. Girls care. They care deeply about community issues.
They want to lead and make change. They're not disengaged. They're waiting to be invited in. One way
our organization offers that invitation is through Girl Scout Gold Award projects, which improve communities
and often launch careers of impact. When girls are trusted with real problems and real responsibility,
they rise. So here's a final takeaway from the Indiana Girl Report.
The opportunity gap is not a talent gap, it's an invitation gap. So how can we all help? Provide community,
consistent mentoring, and adult allies who listen deeply before they try to fix anything. In nature,
the network runs both ways. Saplings don't just receive, they also help nourish the older trees. Girls
tell us the same is true in their lives when they're invited into meaningful communities like Girl Scout
troops, teams, clubs, youth boards,
their confidence grows. And they, in turn, energize the adults around them with fresh ideas and courage.
This is why community is not a soft idea. It's a hard strategy. Small moments of encouragement, like
you belong here. Your idea matters. We've got you no matter what. You can alter the direction of a life.
Leadership grows in shared, interconnected networks, not in competitive silos. Women and girls thrive
when we lift one another up, not when we stand alone.
These are the roots that sustain a generation of changemakers. The Indiana Girl Report isn't just data,
it's a driver of action. So here's what we're doing at Girl Scouts. With support from two Colts Kicking
the Stigma grants, we're integrating mental health programming throughout our summer camps over the
next two years. We're also hosting trainings and retreats for girls and adults, Girl Scouts, volunteers,
and youth workers from statewide.
so that the adults in a girl's life know how to be that steady, connected network that she can count
on. Girls tell us they want to be seen as capable and not fragile. They want adults to listen more and
fix less. They crave real conversations, not surface-level empowerment. And when we shift how we see
girls, we shift what they believe about themselves. At Camp Delwood, our team is focused on STEM programming
that introduces girls to STEM-related careers very early on.
Ask most eight-year-olds what they want to be, and you'll often hear teacher, fabulous career,
or veterinarian. Our miniature schnauzer pups love the veterinarian. They think that's very important,
too. But our programs are widening the lens, providing more opportunities from coding and robotics to
engineering and motorsports. Among our Girl Scouts, we're cultivating what I refer to as everyday leadership,
the courage to use your voice and your experience to nurture others so they can grow.
Leadership is not a spotlight, it's stewardship. We recently launched Girls in Gear, a program that
opens the door to the world of motorsports. You don't have to be a race car driver to belong in that
world. There are engineers, data scientists, safety innovators, logistics leaders, and more. We want
girls to see it, name it, and believe, I can do that. The program was featured on NBC Nightly News Kids
Edition, so let's take a look.
You know, maybe, maybe not. Looks like we're working on it in the back there. Marissa? OK. All right.
So that clip is available online. It is a fabulous clip, right? Go take a look. We're super excited.
And we are very proud of the girls that are featured in it and the innovative programming. And come
to Dulwood. Come to Cape Dulwood in Indianapolis, because you can see it in real time.
Something new this year is the Indiana Girl Report is the addition of girls' voices. We listened to
91 girls across the state of Indiana, not just Girl Scouts. They told us what helps, social connections,
a sense of community, there's that community word again, and support of adults who show up consistently.
Over and over, girls named the invisible network that Girl Scouts provides, friends for life, and mentors
who model empathy, collaboration, and generosity. They also told us what gets in their way, comparison,
perfectionism, and the fear of failing in public. And when they told us what they want from us,
they said, invite us in, trust us with real challenges, and stay with us when it's messy. Let me tell
you about a couple of Indiana Gold Award Girl Scouts named Hope and Hazel. Hope grew up shy, smart,
curious, but unsure of her voice. During 13 years in Girl Scouts, her confidence grew root by root,
nurtured by supportive adults and meaningful opportunities.
When it came time to choose her Gold Award project, she focused on something unexpected, sharks. Right?
She realized kids learn to fear them before they ever learn the science behind them. So Hope designed
two full STEM curricula on shark conservation, now used across the schools where she grew up. She spent
95 hours creating hands-on lessons that replaced fear with curiosity, introducing hundreds of students
to real scientific thinking.
Today, Hope's work lives on in classrooms every semester. She changed hearts, shaped minds, and showed
what happens when a girl is trusted with real problems to solve. That is what leadership looks like.
This is what happens when we listen to girls and invite them in. Let me also share Hazel's story. She
moved to Bloomington from Montana. Because of the community and friendships she developed, she stayed
connected with her former troop and built her Girl Scout Gold Award project in Monroe and Greene counties.
Her project, the Indiana Prevention Project, focused on early substance use prevention for youth using
public art, social media, and youth engagement. Drawing on inspiration from a Paint the State drug prevention
mural program from Montana, she designed a social media campaign and website for youth in Monroe and
Greene counties to create and submit public art designs raising awareness of substance abuse risks.
Hazel collaborated with local organizations
city officials, and schools to secure support and resources. And then she established a nonprofit to
secure funding, including an award for the winning youth design. Hazel launched a school-based mural
action club to engage students in community art and prevention activities. And she set up plans with
local business to host a second mural contest featuring a graffiti artist, ensuring ongoing sustainability.
Now, I don't know about you, but when I was 16 or 17 years old, I probably wasn't doing that.
Like, that's fabulous, right? Lastly, I'd like to share the story of Girl Scout Jemma, who lives just
a little north of us in Bartholomew County. Her Bronze Award project focuses on helping the girls in
her school feel safe and supported. Jemma noticed that some of the girls at school didn't have access
to hygiene products like deodorant or pads, and they were too embarrassed to ask for help. She talked
with her school counselor and nurse, and they confirmed this was a real need for the girls in the school.
After further discussing the issue with her peers,
Jemma developed a carrying cart that would allow girls to privately get access to the hygiene supplies
they needed. The carrying cart was placed in the girls' restroom and included toothpaste, toothbrushes,
deodorant, brushes, hair ties, pads, and more. She even included a request box so girls can request
the things they need that aren't already on the cart. Jemma funded her project through donations from
local businesses and by making and selling earrings and slime at a craft market.
I know, right? That's what leadership looks like, though. That's what happens when girls want
real responsibility and community networks show up and help girls thrive. Here's what this means for
each of us. If the mother tree reminds us that leadership is a shared subterranean network, then each
of us has a role to play in strengthening the soil around girls. For parents and caregivers, listen
without judgment. Ask more questions than you have answers.
Normalize healthy risk-taking. Celebrate the try, not just the trophy. Model healthy self-talk. Let
her hear how you respond to your own mistakes with curiosity, not contempt. Normalize healthy risk-taking.
Model healthy self-talk. Let her hear how you respond to your own mistakes with curiosity, not contempt.
We covered that one. All right, here we go. For educators and youth-serving professionals,
Create spaces for girls to lead and to fail safely. You all just did that for me in this moment, and
I appreciate that. Notice the quiet leaders. Give them roles that matter, not just the tasks that are
tidy. Build communities of support where girls can be their authentic selves. The goal is not to polish
perfection, it's to cultivate their courage. For business and community leaders, mentor a girl. Your
lived experience is what the network needs. Invest in early leadership development.
The pipeline begins long before the internship does. Support Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, you know
I had to. Your partnership helps us scale mental health programming, STEM pathways, and opportunities
like Girls in Gear that expand what girls believe is possible. When girls thrive, our communities thrive.
That isn't just a slogan, it's an economic and civic truth. So, remember, the mother tree's influence
is quiet and consistent.
It looks like small moments, steady mentoring, a text that says, you belong, a meeting where we step
back so a girl can step forward. It looks like shared power, not power over, but power with others.
This is how forests grow resilient. This is how communities do too. I believe that women and girls have
limitless possibilities to change the world. And that is what happens when we tap into that powerful
network of support. I can still point to women in my life who changed my trajectory.
Thanks for inviting me to say the word Karen Wolford, the person who meant so much in my life as a mentor.
Sometimes they don't even realize it. There were mentors who saw leadership potential in me and called
me to serve at a greater level, saying, I see something in you, Dina, something you might not even realize
is there yet. There were women who spoke my name in rooms I wasn't even in, as the mayor mentioned as
well, leading to moments of opportunity and growth, women who time and time again showed me that their
belief in my capacity to do good in this world would never fade.
And today, as the leader of our amazing organization, I am reciprocating that energy, demonstrating
trust in the future leaders I'm helping to develop, speaking up and saying their names in every room
I'm in, saying, hey, you know who's good at that? You know who really deserves this opportunity? Have
you talked to this person? That's what we do as Girl Scouts. We say again and again, we know who you
are. We know what we stand for. We know our girls have what it takes to lead.
be the very best of us. From helping a girl pursue an award, to writing a formal recommendation letter,
to making a casual comment that opens up her perspective of the possibilities available to her. To helping
her have an experience or an adventure that changes everything. That's mentorship. Sometimes it's just
someone saying, I see something in you, go try it. Don't doubt yourself for one second. When one woman
invests in another, the impact doesn't double. It multiplies across communities.
workplaces, and generations across forests. Girls and young women are navigating a world that is more
connected, but also so much more complex and uncertain. Confidence gaps, representation gaps, and opportunity
gaps still exist. Mentorship helps close those gaps, not someday, but in real time. Because our girls
understand the challenges of today's world, it's critical for us to start supporting and investing in them now
so they're ready to answer the call of leadership in the future. Before we close, here are three things
you can do this month. Invite a girl into a real problem. Ask her, what's one thing you'd change at
school, in our neighborhood, or online? Be careful, because then, partner with her to make a plan. Help
her put it into action. Name what you see. Tell a girl specifically what she did that demonstrated leadership.
You organized the team's ideas. You stayed calm when the plan failed. You lifted someone else's voice.
And help her find her network. Connect her to a troop, a STEM event at Camp Delwood, or a community
project like Girls in Gear where she can try, learn, and belong. The forest you and I will walk through
years from now, healthier, taller, more resilient, with the work of what we do today beneath the surface.
In Indiana, we have everything we need
bright, determined girls, caring adults just like you, data points us along the way, and a community
ready to act. Let's be the network. Let's steward the future together. Thank you so much for your time
and commitment to the girls and women that we serve. And lastly, here's a quick note. Will you please
take a moment to scan? We have QR codes coming up here. Here we go. QR codes.
That will take you right to the Indiana Girl Report. You may download your own copy. Please refer to
that often, because we believe there's really great data in there that can help support our girls. So
thanks again, and I hope you have a wonderful afternoon. Thank you, Bloomington.
Thank you so much for that amazing keynote address, Dina. We are so grateful for the presence of Girl
Scouts in our local Indiana communities. I'm Hannah Chudley. And I am Cece Swalley. We are commissioners
on the Bloomington Commission on the Status of Women. We'd like to take a moment to recognize the sponsors
who made this amazing event possible today. It certainly doesn't happen without support.
Our 2026 presenting sponsor is the city of Bloomington. It's said to wait for a pause. Our 2026 platinum
sponsor is the South Central Community Action Program, SCCAP. Our 2026 gold sponsor is Cook Medical.
And our bronze sponsors are Girls Inc. of Monroe County, the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce,
and the League of Women Voters, Bloomington Monroe County. The Commission on the Status of Women was
also the recipient of a generous grant this year that made this event possible from the Smithville Charitable
Foundation. The grant was specifically for this luncheon, and we could not be more grateful.
So a big thank you to the Smithville charitable foundation. We appreciate you Lastly we want to express
our sincere appreciation to our event partners who made this day such a success Thank you to the Monroe
Convention Center staff and caterers marquees rental and staging nature's way and
and the City of Bloomington Community and Family Resources Department staff, we appreciate your support
and collaboration. And of course, we'd like to thank the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana's local team
for their continued partnership and for donating the Girl Scout cookies you have on your tables today.
Please make sure to take a box.
As we close our 2026 Women's History Luncheon, we want to thank each and every one of you for being
here today. You were part of the magic that made today happen. Today we celebrated incredible women,
honored lasting legacies, and we're reminded that this work of advancing equity and opportunity continues
because of all of us. Charlotte Zietlow once said, you don't wait for change. You create it together.
Her spirit and the spirit of that statement live on in this room today to our award winners our speakers
our event partners and each of you. Thank you for showing up. Thank you for making a more sustainable
future. Take this energy home with you. Keep building. Keep advocating and keep leading. Thank you and
have a wonderful afternoon.