Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas and Galleria Dallas are launching a “Redefining Influencers” campaign for February. The campaign showcases a new class of influencer – all North Texas role models. The exhibit will be unveiled Friday, Jan. 26, and features three North Texas professionals and two Girl Scouts Gold Award winners. Young women earn the Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouting, by developing and carrying out lasting solutions to issues in their neighborhoods and beyond.
While social media can be a great tool for connecting people together, for many of our North Texas youth, the effects of social media and social media influencers can have a dark side. Teens follow a staggering number of influencers, with 70% of American teens relying on influencers as a primary source of information.
Redefining Influencers Featured Women
• Amber Williams. A chef who founded Le Rouge Cuisine, Williams has drawn upon her experiences growing up in Oak Cliff to write the cookbook Surviving the Food Desert, which provides educational tips to turn food pantry staples into nutritious and delicious meals.
• Devyn Walker. The licensed professional counselor used personal tragedy and mental health challenges as the catalyst to create Transcend Wellness, which brings mind-body healing practices to underserved BIPOC communities.
• Linda Garcia. The Texas representative created the wealth management company In Luz We Trust, which empowers the LatinX community to take control of their finances. Her Wealth Warrior workshops led her to write Wealth Warrior: 8 Steps for Communities of Color to Conquer the Stock Market.
Gold Award Recipients
• Kelsey Jahnke. The Plano West High School senior pays tribute to a fellow Girl Scout who died of fentanyl poisoning with A Focus on Fentanyl, which creates awareness and education among North Texas teens.
• Anya Aggarwal. The sophomore at The Hockaday School educated DISD youth about healthy habits and body image in a special camp called Beautiful Body through Beautiful Mind – Inside and Out.
“Young women today are barraged with a variety of voices hoping to influence them. We are proud to collaborate with Galleria Dallas to bring real influencers for change to the forefront of that dialogue,” said Jennifer Bartkowski, CEO of GSNETX.
Girl Scout Cookie Program
The timing of the display falls during the annual Girl Scout Cookie Program, which runs through Feb. 25. Every purchase of a box of Girl Scout Cookies fuels local Girl Scouts’ adventures throughout the year – exploring what interests them, discovering their passions and taking action on issues they care about. Girl Scout troops will sell cookies at Galleria Dallas each weekend from Jan. 27–Feb. 25 near their exhibit.
This year, Cookie Box Creations also returns to Galleria Dallas. With the goal of creating the next generation of STEM leaders, Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas pairs teams of Girl Scouts with architects and engineers in a design contest to transform Girl Scout cookie boxes into free-standing structures. This year’s theme celebrates board games, with each team honoring a different classic game.
On Feb. 25, four teams of Girl Scouts will work to create structures using a maximum of 1,000 empty Girl Scout Cookie boxes. In addition to being judged by a panel of experts, the creations will also be judged by the public, who can vote for a favorite via a QR code.
Galleria Dallas Hosts Skate Day
View the creations and celebrate a successful cookie season on March 9, when Galleria Dallas hosts Girl Scout Skate Day from noon to 9 p.m. at Galleria Dallas Ice Skating Center. Those who arrive in uniform will receive free skate rental and a special patch.
“As a woman who benefitted from experience as a Girl Scout in the Cookie Program, being able to partner with the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas to share this important message is personally empowering,” said Galleria Dallas Director of Marketing Megan Townsend. “Galleria Dallas is committed to being a powerful voice in the community and to help elevate the dialogue that shapes the women of tomorrow.”
Galleria Dallas is an iconic shopping center with a unique collection of more than 200 retailers, restaurants and experiences including Nordstrom, Macy’s, the world’s only GAP, Banana Republic and Old Navy combo anchor, The Westin Galleria Dallas and the signature Galleria Ice Skating Center.
Girl Scouts of all backgrounds and abilities can be unapologetically themselves as they discover their strengths and rise to meet new challenges. Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas serves girls and adult volunteers across 32 counties. To change the workforce pipeline in STEM and meet the urgent need for female voices, engagement, and leadership in the fastest-growing sector of the U.S. economy,
Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas opened the STEM Center of Excellence in 2018.
