Blazing trails and redefining what’s possible for girls everywhere? Girl Scouts have been true to this since 1912.
Juliette Gordon Low—also known widely by her nickname, “Daisy”—started Girl Scouts in 1912 in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia. The first troop was made up of 18 girls who all shared a sense of curiosity and a belief that they could do anything.
At a time when women in the United States couldn’t yet vote and were expected to stick to strict social norms, encouraging girls to embrace their unique strengths and create their own opportunities was game-changing. That small gathering of girls over 100 years ago ignited a movement across America where every girl could unlock her full potential, find lifelong friends, and make the world a better place.
Maria Montessori was a physician and educator who developed the well-known educational method called the Montessori. She opened the first Montessori school in Rome in 1907 and traveled the world to educate others about this educational approach.
Lucy Wheelock was the "pioneer" of American Kindergarten. Though raised with great education and aspirations to learn teaching at Wellesley College, she changed paths after visiting a kindergarten class. She admired teaching youth and taught kindergarten for ten years until she was asked to train other teachers to teach young students in Boston Public Schools
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Marie Curie was the scientific genius behind radioactivity and X-rays as we know them today. Not only did she become the first woman to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1903, but she also became the first person to ever win it twice in 1911. Curie was 66 when she died in 1934.
Mary McLeod Bethune grew up working with her formerly-enslaved parents on their cotton farm. After the war ended, Bethune attended and graduated from Scotia Seminary. She became an educator, eventually opening the Daytona Beach Literary and Industrial School for Training Negro Girls. She was also an active player in racial and gender equality, founding the National Council of Negro Women and becoming vice president of the NAACP.
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Anne Sullivan defeated the odds of a childhood illness that almost left her blind, the death of her mother, and the abandonment of her father to become a very successful teacher for people with sight and hearing impairments. She is well known for teaching Helen Keller and becoming her lifelong friend and companion.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg made history as the first Jewish woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court. Her entire career was highlighted with pivotal moments in American history. Consistently standing up for gender equality and civil rights, she helped pass historic rulings on topics ranging from the Affordable Care Act to the legalization of same-sex marriage before her 2020 death at age 87.
Sally Ride was the first American woman in space. After her historic missions in orbit, she became a professor at the University of California, San Diego where she shared her expertise and knowledge of space. Ride developed her own company, Sally Ride Science, to encourage young girls to pursue careers in STEM.
Madeleine K. Albright, became the first woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of State, serving from 1997-2001. She became the highest-ranking woman in the U.S. government but, as a naturalized citizen, she would not have been eligible to become President. She had previously served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 1993-1997.
Maya Angelou A multi-talented writer and performer, Maya Angelou is best known for her work as an author and poet. Her 1969 memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, made literary history as the first nonfiction bestseller by a Black woman. Some of her famous poems include “Phenomenal Woman,” “Still I Rise,” and “On the Pulse of Morning,” which she recited at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993 and which earned her a Grammy Award. Angelou also enjoyed a career as a Tony- and Emmy-nominated actor and singer in plays, musicals, and onscreen. She became the first Black woman to have a screenplay produced with the 1972 movie Georgia, Georgia. In her work as a civil rights activist, she collaborated with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, among others. The Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient died in May 2014 at age 86.
Hillary Rodham Clinton became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from New York, the only First Lady ever elected to public office. She won an open seat in a general election. She was also the first woman to win a major party's presidential primary for the purposes of delegate selection when she won the primary in New Hampshire on January 8. She also became the first woman to be a presidential candidate in every primary and caucus in every state. In June 2016, Hillary Rodham Clinton became the first woman to be a major party's presumptive nominee for president. She formally became the first woman to be a major party's presidential nominee at the Democratic National Convention on July 26, 2016. Despite winning the popular vote by almost 3 million votes, Clinton lost the Electoral College and conceded the general election on November 9, 2016.
Michelle Obama is a lawyer, writer, and philanthropist who was the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first Black woman to hold this position. Michelle is the wife of America’s 44th president, Barack Obama. As first lady, Obama focused her attention on social issues such as poverty, healthy living, and education. She won a Grammy Award for her 2018 memoir, Becoming, which discusses the experiences that shaped her, from her childhood in Chicago to her years living in the White House.
Dr. Hayat Sindi is a Saudi Arabian medical scientist and one of the first female members of the Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia. She is famous for making major contributions to point-of-care medical testing and biotechnology. Hayat Sindi was born in Mecca. In 1991, she convinced her family to allow her to travel alone to the United Kingdom in order to pursue her higher education. After a year spent learning English and studying for her A-levels, she was accepted to King's College London, where she graduated with a degree in pharmacology in 1995. Sindi went on to get a Ph.D. in biotechnology from the University of Cambridge in 2001; she was the first Saudi woman to be accepted at Cambridge University in the field of biotechnology, and the first woman from any of the Arab States of the Arabian Gulf to complete a doctoral degree in the field. Sindi was a visiting scholar at Harvard University; as such, she travels often between Jeddah, Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts. Sindi's laboratory work at Harvard earned her a spot with four other scientists in a documentary film supported by the Executive Office of the President of the United States in order to promote science education among young people. Along with her scientific activities, Sindi participated in numerous events aimed at raising the awareness of science amongst females, particularly in Saudi Arabia and the Muslim World in general. In 2010, Sindi was the winner of the Mekkah Al Mukaramah prize for scientific innovation, given by HRH Prince Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud. She was also named a 2011 Emerging Explorer by the National Geographic Society. On October 1, 2012, Sindi was appointed by UNESCO head Irina Bokova as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for her efforts in promoting science education in the Middle East, especially for girls. She was also on Newsweek's list of 150 women who shook the world for that year. In January 2013, Sindi again broke new ground by becoming part of the first group of women to serve in Saudi Arabia's Consultative Council. In the annual meeting of Clinton Global Initiative held on September 21-24, 2014, Dr. Sindi was awarded with 'Leadership in Civil Society' prize.
Ramona Edelin the activist, renowned for her pivotal roles in advancing civil rights, education reform and community empowerment. Once upon a time, Black Americans were simply known as “colored people,” or “Negroes.” That is until Ramona Edelin came along. Edelin’s contributions to academia and activism were manifold. She was pivotal in popularizing the term “African American” alongside Rev. Jesse L. Jackson in the late 1980s. Later, Edelin told Ebony magazine, “Calling ourselves African Americans is the first step in the cultural offensive,” while linking the name change to a “cultural renaissance” in which Black Americans reconnected with their history and heritage. “Who are we if we don’t acknowledge our motherland?” she asked later. “When a child in a ghetto calls himself African American, immediately he’s international. You’ve taken him from the ghetto and put him on the globe.” Edelin’s academic pursuits led her to found and chair the Department of African American Studies at Northeastern University, where she established herself as a leading voice.
Patsy Mink grew up in Hawaii and won her first election in high school for class president. Struggling with racial discrimination in her college days, she moved back to Hawaii with hopes of becoming a doctor. After not getting accepted into medical school, Mink became a lawyer and was a private attorney for the House of Representatives. She was voted into a seat in the Hawaii State Senate and then the House of Representatives as the first Asian-American woman to serve in Congress. She eventually authored Title IX, criminalizing the exclusion of education based on sex.
Malala Yousafzai was raised in Mingora, Pakistan where she loved attending her all-girls school. Her father worked as a teacher. When the Taliban took control of her city, girls were no longer allowed to go to school. She spoke out about girls' right to education and was shot as a result. Surviving after months of surgeries and rehabilitation, she continued to speak out and started the Malala Fund, a charity helping girls find bright futures. She is the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner. 
Amanda Gorman was named the first National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States in 2017. In 2021, she became the youngest poet to write and read her work at a presidential inauguration. The 22-year-old enthralled the Biden inauguration audience with "The Hill We Climb," which referenced both painful history and hope for the future. Gorman also read a poem at the Super Bowl in 2021, co-hosted 2021's Met Gala and was named an Estée Lauder Global Changemaker. In addition to poetry, Gorman is an activist who advocates for climate issues, equality and education. She's been interested in a presidential run since she was 11, and plans to run in 2036, the first cycle in which she'll be old enough to be elected. Prior to performing, Gorman recites the following mantra: "I'm the daughter of Black writers who are descended from Freedom Fighters who broke their chains and changed the world. They call me."
In August 2020, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris was selected by former Vice President Joe Biden as his running mate in the 2020 presidential election. Harris is the first woman of color to be selected as the running mate on a major-party ticket, as well as the first multiracial woman, the first South Asian woman, and the first Black woman. Harris joins Geraldine Ferraro and Sarah Palin in becoming the third woman in history tapped as the vice presidential pick, as well as the fourth woman, with Hillary Clinton, on a major-party presidential ticket.
In November 2020, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris was elected Vice President of the United States, becoming the first woman, the first woman of color, the first Black woman, and the first South Asian woman elected to this office.
Danica A. Roem is an American journalist and politician elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2017, Roem is the first openly transgender person elected to either house of the Virginia General Assembly, and upon her January 2018 swearing-in became the first openly transgender person to be elected and serve in a state legislature in U.S. history. When Roem was a child, her grandfather would tell her, "the basis of my knowledge comes from reading the newspaper every day." This influenced her to become a journalist. She was a journalist for ten and a half years. She then decided to run for public office. She said her journalism career has given her a wide knowledge of local policy issues. She won seven awards from the Virginia Press Association, including multiple wins as the "Readers’ Choice” for best local public servant.
Stephanie Bravo is the Co-Founder of StudentMentor.org. Stephanie was invited to The White House to meet the President and talk to White House officials about StudentMentor.org’s role in improving college completion and preparing students for the workforce of tomorrow. As a result, StudentMentor.org and The White House launched a partnership in 2012 to bring more light to this critical issue. Previously, Stephanie was the Founder and President of Making a Difference for Good USA, which provided thousands of rural Cambodians with clean water, adequate sanitation, and education. Stephanie was chosen as one of the top 100 most influential women in Silicon Valley in 2013. She is also a Fellow of the National Hispana Leadership Institute and a Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar. She is a first-generation college graduate earning a M.A. in Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership from Stanford University and a B.A. in Psychology with honors from San Jose State University