Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania (GSEP) will recognize 2026 \u201cTake the Lead Lehigh Valley\u201d recipients April 23 at Delta Hotels by Marriott Allentown Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n
The four female leaders exemplify the Girl Scouts\u2019 mission \u201cof building girls of courage, confidence and character, and who make the world a better place,\u201d according to a press release from the GSEP.<\/p>\n
The 2026 \u201cTake the Lead Lehigh Valley\u201d honorees are:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Jennifer Alpha, Board President and Program Director, Lehigh Valley Girls Rock, an organization that offers empowerment opportunities for cisgender girls and women + transgender and nonbinary individuals through music and art. Jennifer is a community development and affordable housing consultant.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Kelly A. Chando, CFRE, Director of Development, St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network. Chando leads philanthropic strategy and major-gift fundraising. She is on the Board of the American Heart Association and a member of United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley\u2019s Tocqueville Society. A survivor of postpartum preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome, Chando raises awareness to empower women through advocacy and education in healthcare.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Dr. Elizabeth M. Meade, President, Cedar Crest College. As the 14th president of Cedar Crest College, Dr. Meade has led the institution\u2019s transformation into a comprehensive college that offers 15 graduate programs.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Tanya Tyler, Executive Assistant to the Chief Human Resources Officer, Air Products, and Executive Director, Lehigh Valley Inspirational Arts Foundation: As co-chair of Air Products\u2019 Black Employee Resource Group, Tyler advances Air Products\u2019 diversity and inclusion objectives.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough their vision, resilience and commitment to excellence and lifting others in the community, our 2026 \u2018Take the Lead Lehigh Valley\u2019 honorees truly exemplify Girl Scout values,\u201d said Kim E. Fraites-Dow, Chief Executive Officer of GSEP.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are thrilled to honor these women and celebrate both their individual accomplishments and the impact they have in strengthening our community. We look forward to Girl Scouts from Lehigh Valley learning firsthand from these women what it takes to lead a life of purpose,\u201d Fraites-Dow said.<\/p>\n
As part of the program, high school-age Girl Scouts are paired with each honoree to shadow them for a day to gain career and leadership insights.<\/p>\n
The girls, who are selected through a competitive application and interview process, will deliver presentations at the \u201cTake the Lead\u201d event. In addition, Girl Scouts will serve as presenters, emcees, event hosts, social-media influencers and chorus members.<\/p>\n
\u201cTake the Lead Lehigh Valley\u201d is co-chaired by Krista Ortwein, Director, Corporate Social Responsibility at Olympus Corporation of the Americas, and Katie Santana, President at ASR Media.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach year, our \u2018Take the Lead Lehigh Valley\u2019 event raises critical funds for Girl Scouting in Eastern Pennsylvania. We are grateful to our co-chairs and committee members whose tireless efforts help continue the success of this program and ensures that every girl has access to the Girl Scout Leadership Experience,\u201d said Fraites-Dow.<\/p>\n
The event includes a cocktail reception.<\/p>\n
Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania (GSEP) is the largest girl-serving organization in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
What was founded in 1912 in Savannah, Ga., by founder Juliette Gordon Low has grown to 2.8 million Girl Scouts in the U.S. today.<\/p>\n
GSEP serves more than 25,000 girls in partnership with more than 14,000 volunteers in Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton and Philadelphia counties.<\/p>\n
According GSEP, 80 percent of women in leadership and executive roles in the U.S. are Girl Scouts. Girl Scout alumni comprise 70 percent of women in the U.S. Congress.<\/p>\n
Information about \u201cTake the Lead\u201d sponsorships and tickets: 267-332-5483, www.gsep.org\/takethelead<\/p>\n
Information about Girl Scouting, how to join, volunteer, reconnect and donate: 215-564-2030, www.gsep.org<\/p>\n
Jennifer Alpha<\/p>\n
Kelly A. Chando<\/p>\n
Dr. Elizabeth M. Meade<\/p>\n
Tanya Tyler<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania (GSEP) will recognize 2026 \u201cTake the Lead Lehigh Valley\u201d recipients April 23 at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":106839,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-106838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106838\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}