Troop Leader Experience: A Podcast about Girl Scouts for Troop Leaders and other Girl Scout Volunteers - podcast cover

Troop Leader Experience: A Podcast about Girl Scouts for Troop Leaders and other Girl Scout Volunteers

The first ever podcast of its kind: interviews with GS volunteers across the country & even the world, conversations with goal-getter girls, and panel discussions & debates about all the latest news & information regarding all things Girl Scouts. (This podcast is not affiliated with or sponsored by GSUSA; it is completely volunteer and girl driven.)
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Episodes

Looking Ahead at 2025

We're taking a little break here on the Troop Leader Experience podcast, but make sure to binge the 6.5 years of content we've already got here for ya in the meantime! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 11, 20246 min

Girl Scouts & Politics

We're all reeling from the results of the 2024 US federal election and although I'm not trying to get political in this podcast, Girl Scouts does have an interesting relationship with politics throughout its history. In this episode, I'm diving into the relationship between Girl Scouts & politics going all the way back to Juliette Gordon Low. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 19, 202446 min

Help, there's so much to do!

ESPECIALLY if you hang out on Pinterest or in Troop Leader facebook groups, it can start to feel like there is just way too much to realistically do as a Girl Scout troop. And as a troop leader who really wants to make this experience as high impact as possible, that can sometimes feel overwhelming. How do those super troops on Facebook (or sometimes even the guests on this podcast) seem to do EVERYTHING there is to do? If you have ever felt this overwhelm and pressure to do all the things, this...

Nov 05, 202422 min

Petty Arguing, Tattling, and Conflict Resolution

No matter how old your girls are, you might have the same experience as one of my listeners who asked me how to handle the situation when it seems like the girls are always bickering and complaining, "That's not fair!" In today's episode, I'm sharing some of the foundational conflict resolution techniques and strategies I've used in my troop, learned in my educational background specializing in conflict resolution, and as the former mediator for my local council. Learn more about your ad choices...

Oct 29, 202432 min

100+ Service Project Ideas (for all ages)

Giving back to our communities and making them better places is a fundamental part of the Girl Scout experience. Sometimes this looks like Take Action projects, or high awards, but just volunteering in general is something most troop leaders say is important to them when envisioning running a troop. But, especially when you have younger girls, what the heck kind of service projects can you even do with kids in K-12? Here's a great big episode full of ideas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

Oct 15, 202438 min

My Favorite Girl Scout Traditions

It's a new Girl Scout year officially and I'm reflecting on some of my favorite traditions! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 08, 202433 min

Fostering Creative Problem-Solving and Conflict Resolution Skills with Your Troop

When recording last week's episode, I came up with the idea to do some activity suggestions - both indoor and outdoor, for all age levels - to build problem solving skills and conflict resolution skills. I hope you can use some of these ideas with your troop! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 01, 202424 min

How to Lead a Girl-Led Troop

We hear people talk about "girl led" in Girl Scouts all the time -and although I've broken down what that term really means in this podcast a few times before, it's never too much and this week, I'm doing one better: I'm giving you 15+ examples of what it looks like to actually lead a girl-led troop and to foster leadership skills among your girls, no matter how old they are. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Sep 24, 202426 min

How to Pack for Outdoor Adventures with Your Girl Scout Troop

In today's episode, I'm sharing some tips for what to pack when you take an outdoor adventure with your troop. Now listen, this is not an exhaustive list, especially because that largely depends on what the heck you are doing. But in general, I learned from experience that there are some essentials you should just bring with you for any field trip or outdoor adventure with your troop no matter what you're doing or how old they are. Here are my essential items that you must have! + Some bonus ite...

Sep 17, 202428 min

50+ Incredible Outdoor Adventure Ideas for Any Age Troop

No matter what age group you're working with, we've got ideas for you to spend time adventuring outdoors! Outdoor activities are a huge tradition in Girl Scouts and so valuable for mental health, leadership skills, and relationship building. Tune in for another ULTIMATE GIANT LIST episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 10, 202450 min

BONUS: Talking to Kids about Violence and Traumatic Events

After another occurrence of senseless violence in the USA, everyone is talking about safety at school... including kids. We're all having strong emotional responses from this horrific event... including kids. Should we address this at Girl Scouts? And if so, how can we do it with the kids' best interests at heart? Resources: https://www.girlscouts.org/en/raising-girls/happy-and-healthy/happy/extreme-violence-and-children-parenting-advice.html https://www.girlscouts.org/en/raising-girls/happy-and...

Sep 07, 202457 min

10 Back-to-Troop Ideas to Get to Know Your Troop

In this episode, I am speed talking through 10 ideas for activities you can do at your back-to-school season troop meetings. I didn't mean to speed talk, but here we are. Don't listen to this one on 2x speed. I say this for your own safety. LOL Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 03, 202419 min

3 Ways to Engage Your Troop During an Election Year

Primary election years are a big deal in the US! But they can also be exhausting, and frankly, divisive. In this episode, I'm sharing 3 of my best tips for how to engage your girls in discussion and action around the fact that it's an election year... without actually getting involved in divisive politics that will alienate troop families. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 27, 202427 min

Girl Drama, Mama Drama, and Conflict Resolution

This week, my guest is Sheri Bowman-Gazitt. We are talking all about managing DRAMA - girl drama, mama drama, and more. Connect with Sheri here: http://teen-wise.com http://facebook.com/groups/theparentinglab Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 20, 202427 min

Multi Level Troop Tips

This week, I wanted to share some tips for running a multi-level troop, including some insights into my own story and how my own multi-level troop started and grew. ALSO I'm so excited to announce that I'm nominated for a Women in Podcasting award! You can support me (it's totally free) by voting for the show here: https://womeninpodcasting.net/awards Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Aug 13, 202443 min

3 Things to Prepare for Back to Troop Season

We're back for SEASON 7 of this podcast! And it's back to school season, which around here is also known as Back to Troop! Here are three things you can (and should) do to prepare for back to troop season! ALSO I'm so excited to announce that I'm nominated for a Women in Podcasting award! You can support me (it's totally free) by voting for the show here: https://womeninpodcasting.net/awards Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Aug 06, 202426 min

Play Together: Activities to Put On Your Troop Calendar This Year

I know y'all love the easy-to-implement episodes, and this one is packed full of ideas you are going to love. My guest today is Laura Haver, and her book Play Together is going to be an incredible resource for your troop. She's sharing some of her favorite ways to play (while still learning and building skills and emotional resilience) and I can't wait for you to start getting some ideas from this episode to put on your troop calendar for this upcoming year. Get the book (this is an affiliate li...

Jul 16, 202453 min

What is Executive Function? For Girls and Adults

I first heard about executive function a few years ago and to be honest, it helped me understand neurodiversity on a level that is so much more helpful and useful. I was so excited to connect with this week's guest, Carrie Bonnett, because she specializes in helping kids (and adults) with executive function. I hope you're ready to learn something this episode - it's a good one! Connect with Carrie: https://www.carriebonnett.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Jul 09, 202435 min

Play-Based Learning for Girls of All Ages

My guest today is Amy from Spark Joy with Amy. We're talking about the benefits of play-based learning for children's engagement and resilience. Connect with Amy www.sparkjoywithamy.com www.instagram.com/sparkjoywithamy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 02, 202447 min

Making STEM Fun and Easy

It seems like these days everyone is always talking about STEM. Also, in an effort to close the gender gap in STEM careers, it seems like Girl Scouts has maybe 'overcorrected' with STEM activities ALL THE TIME. Do you feel this way? If so, this episode is for you. My guest this week is Alyse Johnson-Chilla, full time high school science teacher and a parent of a new Daisy. We're talking about why STEM programming is important and how we can make it fun and accessible for girls (and for us!) Lear...

Jun 25, 202440 min

What are we doing here? (A Reminder & Refresher)

Sometimes, we need a reminder about why we want to do this in the first place, and why this work matters. Today I'm reflecting on 6 years of this podcast and 112+ years of creating meaningful, safe spaces for girls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 18, 20241 hr 1 min

Healthy Self Expression and Emotional Resilience

Today, my guest is Susan Day. Susan is an art therapist practitioner and a published author living in East Gippsland, Victoria. Susan hosts her own podcast, facilitates creative art sessions, and has over six mindful art therapy books published. Susan is enthralled with the power of art and the written word to change people’s lives. Connect with Susan: Website: https://mindfulartstherapy.com.au/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindfulartstherapy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulart...

Jun 11, 202432 min

Building Girls of Courage, Confidence, and Character

Connect with Talia Bombola/Talia's resources: Www.therapywithtalia.com and www.taliabombola.com @taliabombola on IG and tiktok https://centerforadolescentstudies.com/how-to-validate-teens-even-when-you-dont-agree/ https://imperfectfamilies.com/50-ways-to-say-good-job-without-saying-good-job/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Jun 04, 202438 min

Trusting Your Intuition & Building Self Awareness

Girls are taught from the time they are literally babies not to trust themselves and they lose the ability to listen to their intuition. This is reinforced throughout childhood and adolescence, and even adulthood, and it gets more and more difficult to relearn in adulthood. Eventually, it seems like many of us have a definitive experience in adulthood that pushes us back to the importance of listening to our intuition and relearning how to tap back into that. One of the things that is so special...

May 28, 202440 min

Facebook/Meta Ads for Girl Scout Recruitment

A few weeks ago we talked about digital marketing, and you all told me you really wanted to hear more about how to run Facebook/Meta ads. I brought in an expert for this one ;) Connect with Helena: https://www.chicago42.com/ https://www.instagram.com/chicago42digital/ https://www.facebook.com/Chicago42Digital/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

May 21, 202438 min

Part 2: What to do as a new Brownie Leader

A couple of weeks ago I answered the question "What are some of your best tips for a new Brownie leader?" Buuuuut I confess that my answer is probably not what the person who asked the question expected to get. So, in part 1 a few weeks ago I answered honestly about where I would start as a brand new leader. And in this episode, part 2, I focused more on some tips about how to get started planning your meetings and activities for girls of different levels. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

May 14, 202435 min

Connecting with and Supporting Teen Girls

My guest in this episode is Roya Dedeaux, a licensed therapist who specializes ins creative teen therapy, art groups, parenting courses, and more for better mental health. We are specifically talking about how to connect with teens in our troops, but if you have littles in your troop, I know there is a lot of value in this conversation for you, too. Connect with Roya: https://www.royadedeaux.com/ Recreate Parenting podcast: https://www.royadedeaux.com/podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...

May 07, 202442 min

Ask Me Anything: Where to Start as a New Brownie Leader

If you're new to Girl Scouts like April, this is my best checklist of items to take care of to get started. RSVP for our upcoming New Leaders Circle: https://subscribepage.io/NfeamT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 30, 202446 min

HAPPY VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION MONTH! Adult Recognition & Appreciation

This week, my go-to returning guest Sheryl Robinson is back and we are talking about Adult Recognitions and Appreciation. Breezing through some of the awards that are available both nationwide and council-specific, we’re talking about the formal methods of adult appreciation in Girl Scouts as well as the other ways we can recognize each other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Apr 23, 202446 min

Teen & Youth Suicide Awareness & Prevention with Suzi Freeman

TRIGGER WARNING: This week’s episode is about the sensitive topic and themes around youth suicide awareness & prevention. The number one cause of death of youth today is suicide. And although boys may have a higher death rate from suicide attempts, girls have a higher attempt rate. As adults who work closely with girls in K-12, we have a special role in recognizing warning signs and helping girls see another way out when it feels like there isn’t one. Our guest today, Suzi Freeman, works wit...

Apr 16, 202455 min
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