Council of Advisors

USAGSO's Council of Advisors (CoA) was created for the purpose of supporting the work of USAGSO in fundraising, marketing/public relations, and strategic planning. The Council of Advisors provides input on matters of policy that directly concern the delivery of the Girl Scout program overseas.

The CoA members bring a strong background and the expertise necessary to support the work of USA Girl Scouts Overseas.

Liza Boffen: Liza Boffen is the Chief Development Officer and Executive Director, Development Office for Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (the 11th best university on the planet, but who's counting?). She was previously the first Chief Development Officer (CDO) for the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) and CEO of the IITB Development and Relations Foundation, in Mumbai, India. Prior to her time in India, Liza was the Vice President for Advancement at Franklin University Switzerland.

She was the first Senior Director of International Alumni Programs and Development at George Washington University, as well as the first Director of the Development Office at SingHealth, the largest healthcare gorup in South East Asia. Prior to joining SingHealth, Liza was the youngest Dean for Undergraduate Programs at the Center for American Education, Singapore. She previously served as the Associate Director, Development at the National University of Singapore. She has over 20 years of advancement experience with a range of charitable organizations, including the Association of Fundraising Professionals, USA Girl Scouts Overseas-Singapore, Girl Scouts of Sycamore Council, Purdue University, Trinity (Washington) University and Historic Prophetstown.
Kristine D’Alesandro: Kristine D’Alesandro is a lifetime member of Girl Scouts and has served on the Council of Advisors since its inception in 2016. She assumed the role of Chair in January 2020. Kristine also served as Vice-Chair for two years and has been a member of numerous committees of the Council of Advisors. She has served with USA Girl Scouts Overseas and Nation’s Capital in numerous leadership roles for the past ten years to include Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2010-2011), Arlington, Virginia (2011-2013), Hanoi, Vietnam (2013-2016), La Paz, Bolivia (2016-2018), Falls Church, Virginia (2018-2019), and Beijing, China (2019-Present).

Kristine is an attorney focused on human rights and the advancement of the rights of women and girls is a core component of her professional work. She recently accepted a position with the Political Section at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China. Prior to Beijing, she worked as a Consular Assistant at the U.S. Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia. Prior to Bolivia, she worked as a Political Analyst at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam. Prior to Hanoi, Kristine worked at the then-U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Cuba as a Program Coordinator in its Public Affairs Section. Prior to Havana, Kristine had served as a trial attorney and associate legal counsel with both the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security in San Francisco, California and Washington, DC from 2001-2007. In November 2016, Kristine was recognized by the Department of State as the Eligible Family Member of the Year for her work advancing human rights in Vietnam.

Kristine received a Juris Doctor in 2000 from the University of Baltimore, School of Law. She received her undergraduate degree in International Business with a Minor in Spanish in 1996 from Loyola University Maryland. Her previous Board experience includes the Board of Trustees of the American Cooperative School of La Paz, Bolivia from 2016-2018, where she served as President from 2017-2018. She is married and has three daughters -- all Girl Scouts!
Kathleen Fitzsimmons: Kathleen Fitzsimmons is an American academic and manager with extensive experience in business and academia, and 25+ years in Italy. She is professor and director of the Business Studies Program at The American University of Rome, where she has been on the faculty since 1998. She directs the degree programs in Business Administration and Travel & Tourism Management, and coordinates the AUR Honors Exchange.

Kathleen received a BA in Journalism from Duquesne University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Known at AUR for her student focus and her #smartchicks hashtag, Kathleen has created a number of programs to create opportunities for students, including the expanded Internship Program, the AURA study abroad program, the Emory Honors Exchange, the AUR Business Club, AUR Campus Girl Scouts (2008-11), consulting projects with local organizations and the series of Business Field Studies. Prior to her entering academe, she held various roles in marketing management with Time Inc. in New York and Playtex Italia in Rome.

Kathleen is a long-time volunteer with USAGSO, first as a leader of her daughter's troops (2000-08) and Events Chair of the local committee (2003-08), then as Chair of USAGSO Rome (2008-11), and is currently serving a second term on the National Council (2011-14 and 2017-20) . In recognition of her work as Coordinator of the European Global Learning Conference hosted in 2013 by The American University of Rome (which has become the home of USAGSO Rome), Kathleen was awarded the Thanks Badge at the 2014 ALC Awards Ceremony. She was tapped in 2015 to be a member of the Governance Task Force that designed the Council of Advisors, and then appointed in 2016 to the CoA. Kathleen has just renewed for a second three-year term, and is Council Development Chair.

Chief among Kathleen's passions is creating opportunities for young women and mentoring them into being the #smartchicks of today and tomorrow.
Deb Gerardi Kemper: Deb Kemper is an active angel investor and mentor to early stage start-up companies. Deb led deal flow for the Boston Chapter of Golden Seeds since 2014 and was the Chair of the Boston Chapter from 2015 through 2017. She is also a member of Clean Energy Venture Group and on the Advisory Board of Red Bear Angels. Her investment focus is high growth companies in the clean tech, health care, and technology sectors. She is a Board Member at Day One Response, and a Board Observer at DayZero Diagnostics and 99DegreesCustom. Deb serves on several non-profit boards including the Council of Advisors of USA Girl Scouts Overseas. Deb was a consultant with McKinsey & Company where she served clients in the energy, electronics, and healthcare sectors. Her functional experience spans manufacturing, product development, operations, strategy, and leadership development. She has provided leadership support to organizations in China, Peru and the United States. Deb earned her MBA from The Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College where she was named an Edward Tuck Scholar. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Cornell, where she graduated With Distinction and was a member of the Varsity Women’s Crew. As an alumna, she is serving on the advisory boards of Entrepreneurship@Cornell and the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future.
Kathy Limbaugh: Kathy Limbaugh initially became involved in Girl Scouts as an adult to support her girls, although she was a North Atlantic Served Girl Scout in London, England growing up. Initially a Daisy troop leader for the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania, she moved to Shanghai, China and served as Brownie leader and Learning Facilitator. Upon moving to Basel, Switzerland, she was a Junior and Senior leader and has sat on the Overseas Committee Management Team (OCMT) as a Programme Manager, Registrar, Webmaster, Quartermaster, and High Awards Coordinator. Currently, Kathy resides in Pennsylvania, serving as Service Unit Manager, Registrar and Troop Leader for the Brandywine Valley.

Kathy has been a global citizen since childhood. Born in Brazil and raised in Europe, Kathy came to the US for the first time during high school. Kathy earned a Bachelor of Engineering and Science degree in BioMedical Engineering, Math and Chemistry from Vanderbilt University. After university, Kathy was an Information Technology and Supply Chain Consultant, mainly supporting large global Chemical and Energy companies. Her specialty is helping large corporate entities in business transformation, best practices and operational excellence.

Kathy and her husband Steve are raising two Girl Scout daughters - already leaders in their own right.
Melinda Murphy: Melinda started Girl Scouts in her small Texas town as a Brownie and went all the way through earning her First Class Award, the earlier version of a Gold. A busy career as an EMMY-award winning television journalist took her away from Girl Scouting for many years. Primarily a feature reporter, Melinda also did breaking news including covering 9/11 which earned her an EMMY nod. Melinda left television after a stint as a network television correspondent working for CBS News.

After moving to Singapore in 2012, Melinda got involved with Girl Scouting again, leading her daughter’s troop ever since while working as a print journalist in Singapore. In 2018, she was named Singapore’s Journalist of the Year. The recipient of the Thanks Badge, Melinda has held many roles in Singapore: OCC, Secretary and Trainer. A natural-born events manager, she’s also overseen the Father Daughter Dance, Day Camp, the Singapore Scurry (an Amazing Race event for older girls), Adventure Day, Cadette Journey-in-a-Day, Closing Ceremonies and much more. This year, she organized Scouts & Guides Care, a letter writing campaign which united all 18,000 Scouts and Guides in Singapore from eight international groups and more than 30 nationalities to thank health care workers on the front line of the COVID-19 virus. She’s been a Master Global Facilitator for four years as well as a National Volunteer Partner.
Danielle Pierson: Danielle Pierson, a Licensed Customs Broker, has 15 years of international experience, including work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Currently, she is a freelance Management and Process Improvement Consultant, facilitating leadership training for 11,000 U.S. personnel in Japan and liaising between military senior management and stakeholders to align interests and communicate solutions. Danielle holds a BA in International Business, Economics, and German from Georgetown College and an MBA from the University of Oxford.

Danielle and her daughter, who is a Brownie, are both registered Girl Scouts at Yokota Air Base, Japan.
Carol Weiss Pouchol: A career in Information Technology led Carol to Microsoft where she was based in Redmond, Washington supporting Microsoft subsidiaries in the Asia/Pacific region and later in Europe. She moved to France in 1993 to assume the role of Information Technology Manager for Microsoft Southern Europe where she has lived ever since.

Carol has been part of the Overseas Management Committee of USA Girl Scouts Overseas Paris since 2004 serving as Treasurer and Registrar. As Treasurer, she was instrumental in obtaining non-profit status for USAGSO Paris in France, enabling the organization to operate within local compliance requirements. She has also served as a troop leader, adult awards coordinator and patch coordinator.

Carol has been part of the Council of Advisors of USA Girl Scouts Overseas since its inception and has been involved in sub-committees such as Customer Engagement Initiative and Strategic Partnerships. She has served in various roles and board positions with United Way Tocqueville and the Association of American Women in Europe. Since early 2018, Carol has engaged in philanthropic projects supporting education in Rajasthan and Assam India.

Originally from Bergan County New Jersey, Carol was a Girl Scout for 9 years, earning “First Class” honors. She earned her BA from Dartmouth College, majoring in Computer Science. Her two daughters were born and raised in France and were USA Girl Scouts for over 12 years in Paris.
Franny Puente-Bonilla: Franny Puente-Bonilla was a Girl Scout as a child and has been heavily involved in volunteering roles in troop, service unit, and council levels. Her main focus has been on serving and supporting the children of Military families, including her own. She is presently the OCC for USAGSO-Bogotá, Colombia.

Franny is the Foreign Service Office Management Specialist for the US Embassy, Bogotá, Colombia. She has also worked for USAG Wiesbaden RSO, Fort Bliss Officer & Civilian Spouses’ Association, USAG Ansbach Army Community Service, USAG Darmstadt Army Community Services, and III Corps, Army Community service. Franny holds a Bachelor of Science in Math from the University of Puerto Rico as well as a Certificate in Adult and Youth Ministry from the Institute for Pastoral Initiatives.
Valerie Russell: Valerie Russell is a life-long Girl Scout who has directly benefited from the amazing outcomes the Girl Scout program delivers. She experienced the program as a girl from Daisies through Seniors with the Virginia Skyline Council, earning her Gold Award in 2001. She credits the Girl Scouts for helping her identify her career path as a chemical engineer and helping her build the confidence to take on new challenges.

The impact of her girl experience led Valerie to become a lifetime member, and she actively engages with the Girl Scout family everywhere she goes. She has been in many troop, service unit, and council-level volunteering roles across multiple councils as well as most recently serving the Amsterdam, Netherlands community of USAGSO as the Overseas Committee Chair and a troop leader from 2015-2018. She joined the USAGSO Council of Advisors in 2018.

Valerie is the Director of Sales & Operations Planning for the Acetyl Chain of Celanese Corporation based in Irving, Texas. She previously was the Business Director for the Sweeteners business of Celanese in Amsterdam, Netherlands. She held prior roles in business management and manufacturing with Celanese across multiple US locations. Valerie has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University.

Valerie and her husband Lance have two daughters and the first is finally old enough to be a Daisy!
Juanita Sealey: Juanita works as a Program Analyst for DoDEA Europe Area Office in Sembach, Germany
Eric Warner: Eric Warner is a founding member and past Chair of the USAGSO Council of Advisors and has been a Girl Scout Volunteer for over 18 years. His past Girl Scout positions include being the leader or co-leader of Daisy, Brownie, and Cadette troops, Service Unit Treasurer, Camp Director, Facilitator, and Overseas Committee Chair. He has also worked hard to expand relations with the Japanese Girl Scouts as a Host Nation Liaison.

Eric has been busy in multiple other volunteer roles as well. He has more than two dozen years of service at mainly the troop level within the Boy Scouts of America, both stateside and overseas. He also occasionally teaches various classes to Girl & Boy Scouts and their leaders as an American Red Cross certified instructor. And ever-dedicated to his career and profession, Eric currently serves as the Society of American Military Engineers’ Regional Vice President of the Pacific region and stays actively involved in two Japanese professional engineering organizations.