
The Moment It Matters is that one defining moment that changes everything: a conversation with a mentor that opens your eyes to a new opportunity. A last-minute decision to run for student council. It is the moment you realized who you are, what you want to do in life, and how you are changing the world for the better.
Join us on March 11 for Tribute to Achievement: The Moment it Matters, our live virtual fundraiser, to hear from Girl Scouts and honorees about the transformative moments in their lives – and the breakthroughs, failures, and changes they have faced that forever clear the way for more women and girls to follow.
Read on to meet some of the fantastic girls, volunteers, and supporters we are spotlighting at this year’s event!
Meet Therese Malinowski, National Gold Award Girl Scout and Alum

One of our hosts for the evening and a 2020 National Gold Award Girl Scout from Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, is Therese Malinowski, honored for her groundbreaking work in STEM and sexual violence prevention with the creation of the world’s first comprehensive campus sexual assault database called “Project Dandelion.” She is currently continuing her project and working to grow the database to a national level. Therese has been a Girl Scout from kindergarten to adulthood, and currently attends Purdue University studying aerospace engineering.
Read Therese’s story on our blog.
Meet Natalie Wynn, Girl Scout Volunteer

We will also be hearing from Natalie Wynn, a first-year leader of a multi-level Girl Scout troop located in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, as she tells her story of breaking into the role of troop leader. Though she is new to the organization, Natalie is already a dedicated champion of her girls, and started a brand-new troop last fall in the hopes of connecting girls in her area: “I was never a Girl Scout myself growing up, but I learned it’s never too late to be a Girl Scout.”
Meet Anusha Ebrahim, Girl Scout Alum, and Monica Weed, Girl Scout Board Member

Anusha is a current senior student at Northwestern University studying Latin Classics, and hopeful medical student. An alum of GCNWI’s premier leadership experience, Camp CEO, Anusha will share her transformational moment with her Camp CEO mentor, Girl Scout alum, and GCNWI Board member Monica Weed, when they “by happenstance” ran into each other at Camp CEO and had a conversation that changed the course of Anusha’s life. “It’s not so often young girls get to meet incredible CEOs doing amazing things with their careers and have that moment where they can be encouraged and inspired,” Anusha shared.
Monica reflected on the value of Girl Scouting in her life: “Girl Scouts took me to places, gave me opportunities, and taught me lessons that I would not otherwise have experienced. Girl Scouts made me a stronger, more self reliant, curious, confident, daring, and empathetic person, than I believe I would have become.”