Council of Advisors

Who We Are...

Meet the Council of Advisors

Sjoukje Neil lives in Bottmingen, Switzerland, where she is a Managing Consultant for ChangeFocus GmbH, Switzerland.  She also serves as a Non-Executive Director for MeeTwo Ltd., an award-winning mental health app for teens.  Sjoukje has extensive experience in Human Resources, including at a senior level with Eli Lilly and Company in regional and country roles across Europe. Her work is focused on change management, organizational effectiveness, and cross-cultural leadership.  Sjoukje holds a BA in English Language from Sheffield University, an MBA from Manchester University, and an MA from the Open University. 

Sjoukje has been involved in Scouting since she was 14, and she served as a Troop Leader for Basel International Girl Scouts, Switzerland from 2010-2013, and then as Chair from 2013-2016.  In her time as Chair, she put considerable effort into recruiting and developing leaders, and by the time she stepped down, they had over 100 girls.  She has drawn extensively on her business experience to develop long-term strategies for success for Girl Scouts, as well as other movements serving youth.  Sjoukje is enthusiastic about making Girl Scouts more accessible internationally.   

Kathleen Fitzsimmons is a semi-retired American academic and manager with extensive experience in business and academia and 30+ years in Italy.  She recently retired as professor and director of the BSBA Program at The American University of Rome, where she has been on the faculty since 1998.

Kathleen received a BA in Journalism from Duquesne University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is a long-time volunteer with USAGSO, first as a leader of her daughter's troop (2000-08) and Events Chair of the local Committee (2003-08), then as Chair of USAGSO Rome (2008-11), National Council Member (2011-14 and 2017-23), Coordinator of the European Global Learning Conference (hosted in 2013 by AUR in Rome), member of the USAGSO Governance Task Force (2015) and subsequently, charter member of the Council of Advisors (2016-22).  She was recently tapped to return to the COA as Governance Officer.  For her contributions to Girl Scouts, Kathleen has been awarded the Thanks Badge.

Deepa Srikanta has lived overseas for the last two years. Most recently she is serving as the Registrar for her local unit and is also a troop leader. Prior to this she was a troop leader in Michigan.
Deepa has a BS from the University of Missouri – Columbia, an MS from George Mason University, and PhD from Louisiana State University. She has 8+ years’ experience as a Corporate and Foundation Relations professional and is currently an External Engagement Specialist for Michigan State University’s Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering.

She currently lives in Saudi Arabia with her husband, daughter, and dogs. Deepa speaks English and Kannada fluently and is learning Arabic.
 

Kathy resides in Pennsylvania, USA and Georgia, USA after spending most of her life overseas. With a career in organisational development and supply chain management for the Oil and Gas industry, Kathy is an enthusiastic advocate for women and youth - both usually lacking in these fields. Kathy was one of the original members of the Council of Advisors and served on the board for 6 years. In addition, she has held Girl Scout leadership positions in Shanghai, China, Basel, Switzerland and Eastern Pennsylvania for over 15 years. Along with the Council of Advisors, she serves on the board of the Federation of American Women Overseas Alumnae (FAUSA).

 

Kelley Kagele is a proud mother to four children and wife to a retired Air Force airman. Over the past 29 years she has lived in eight different cities in five different countries during her husband’s military career. She currently lives in Bydgoszcz, Poland where her husband works at a NATO base. She currently owns an English Language school and is an English textbook consultant. Kelley’s previous work & volunteer experience includes YMCA Director, YMCA national trainer, Red Cross trainer, Rotary, United Way, USO and many other military base organizations. She has BA in Business Management and a MBA certificate in Nonprofit leadership from Park University, Missouri. Her previous Girl Scout experience includes lifelong membership since 1st grade, International Wide Opportunity participate, Gold Award recipient, troop leader, Camp director, Overseas Committee Chair, and Trainer to name a few.

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