About this Podcast:

Season 1, Episode 2: “How to Be the CEO of Your Life with Jennifer Bartkowski”

Hello CauseGirl and welcome to our second episode with Dynamo Jennifer Bartkowski on how to be the CEO of your life. Spoiler alert, I actually wanted to name this episode after Jennifer’s prediction that the first female President of the United States will be a Girl Scout. After listening to this episode, you will see why we’re both doubling down on this bet. Thanks to leaders like Jennifer, you can bet your bottom dollar on girls. The mission is more girls with confidence, character and courage out in the world. And Jennifer is on a roll.

Aspiring CauseGirls out there, take note! I think you’re really going to enjoy this conversation. Grab your favorite glass of wine or beverage, sit back and enjoy!

In this episode…

• Bootcamps, Diet Coke and other energy-boosting self-care tips
• The moment she saw a girl come into her CEO-ness
•  Jennifer’s pivot points and freak-out moment of stepping into her CEO-ship
• A PSA on fear and perfection
• When she knew she was making a difference

More about Jennifer

Hailing from the great state of Texas, she serves as Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas and is dedicated to more than 20,000 girls across 32 counties. She is a single parent so she has two, very big full-time gigs. The must requirement for her? Energy and self-care (yes, we’ll explore how she does it). But that’s not all! She makes time for friends, reads a lot, and even supports many other community organizations including Leadership Dallas and Carson’s Village.

At Girl Scouts, her and her team are paving the way for the next gen workforce pipeline, empowering girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) learning at their $15M facility in South Dallas (which is open to the public, BTW!). They are tackling the tough issues of the day like learning loss, mental health and social and racial justice through their new DEI strategy.

Before joining Girl Scouts in 2009, Jennifer served as the Senior Vice President of Workplace Campaigns for United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, responsible for leading an annual campaign of more than $50 million. Jennifer’s career began after receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Public Administration, with a nonprofit management focus, at Texas A&M University. She has worked with a variety of organizations including the American Lung Association of Texas, United Way/Capital Area, private start-up Charitygift, and as an independent consultant.

Jennifer is a graduate of Leadership Dallas, Class of 2016, and a member of the Leadership Dallas Alumnae Board. She is also a member of the Dallas Summit and the Social Change Leadership Program/Audre Lorde class.  Jennifer is a board member and passionate advocate for Carson’s Village, an innovative, startup nonprofit organization. Jennifer is the recipient of the Dallas Business Journal’s 2017 Women in Business Award and proud that Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas was recognized in 2016 as the Nonprofit of the Year by Dallas-based CNM Connect.

And now Jennifer can add “Official CauseGirl” to her impressive list of credentials.

Connect with Jennifer

Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

Connect with the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

Connect with the Girl Scouts USA

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn

Unique offer in this episode

Free, one-year Girl Scouts membership to girls ages Kindergarten through 12^th grade in the Northeast Texas Region. Please call 972-349-2400 and use promo code “cause girl.” Offer available through November 30, 2021.

CauseGirl call to action in this episode

• Sign up to volunteer with an organization through your local volunteer website, your church, your community or your local school.
• Search for your local food bank as they are in high need right now.
• Serve as a mentor to a younger girl or woman.
• Advocate for girls. Sponsor them. Find jobs and internships for them.
• Find something you’re passionate about and start small. It doesn’t have to be hundreds of hours of time!
• The community needs you and you can step up and do things that are really meaningful!

People Links & Resources in this episode

• Read: Playing Big by Tara Mohr
• Learn more about the National Gold Award Girl Scouts Program and Mary Katherine, 2019 National Gold Award Girl Scout and Founder of Project Reeflove, a national PR campaign dedicated to education and awareness of coral reef protection (by using mineral-based sunscreens or rash guards instead of chemical-based sunscreens).
• Volunteer with or sign up your girls in Girl Scouting today. Find a council near you.
• Did you grow up as a Girl Scout or Brownie? Sign up to become a lifetime member and get reconnected to this mission.
• Check out the organizations where Jennifer volunteers: Carson’s Village and Leadership Dallas.

Jennifer’s pandemic reading list

Fiction:

Still Me by Jojo Moyes

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Bridgerton: The Duke and I and The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn (because beach ☺)

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour

Non-fiction:
A Fool’s Errand: Creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the Age of Bush, Obama and Trump by Lonnie Bunch

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein

Born A Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

Playing Big by Tara Mohr (technically read it last fall but it had a big impact on me)

The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee

Moonshots: Creating a World of Abundance by Naveen Jain

Elena’s pandemic reading list

Fiction:

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Circe by Madeline Miller

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owns

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Room-Maid by Sariah Wilson

Matchmaking for Beginners: A Novel by Maddie Dawson

A Happy Catastrophe: A Novel by Maddie Dawson

Non-fiction:

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Educated by Tara Westover

Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton

Do Good At Work, How Simple Acts of Social Purpose Drive Success and Wellbeing by Bea Boccalandro

STAY CONNECTED

Let’s keep the conversation going! We’d be so grateful and honored to hear your takeaways from this conversation.

If you haven’t already, follow the CauseGirl podcast and never miss an episode! Share your rating and reviews.