October 2024

To the Board of Directors, Girl Scouts of Central Maryland

Subject: Petition for the Reinstatement of Dr. Shernette Grant

Dear Members of the Board,

We, the undersigned, respectfully submit this petition requesting the immediate reinstatement of Dr. Shernette Grant as Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Central Maryland. We believe her termination was executed without just cause and have significant concerns regarding the decision-making process that led to this outcome.

In her brief tenure of just five months, Dr. Grant demonstrated remarkable leadership and a clear vision for our organization. Under her guidance, we witnessed:

Membership-focused Initiatives: In her short time as CEO, Dr. Grant introduced measures to ensure better communication and easier troop and service unit management. She reestablished the fall product sale to bring in additional funds for the troops and the council and provided data-based and transparent reasoning for moving to a spring cookie sale. She instituted cost cutting measures, such as eliminating monthly storage costs and reducing staff-heavy events that were expensive to run. Given time, we are confident she would have turned around the precarious finances of the council and increased girl membership and volunteer retention.

Increased Morale and Engagement: Dr. Grant is enthusiastic about engaging all the voices in our council. She routinely showed up for troop meetings, service unit events, volunteer training, and special celebrations. Her passion for the mission of Girl Scouts was clear, and her responsiveness to girls, parents, and volunteers reignited our own excitement for this mission.

Strategic Direction: Dr. Grant’s girl-focused approach to all decisions and new ideas shows that her leadership is firmly in line with the Girl Scout mission to build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place. By returning the focus of the council back to the girls and volunteers, we believe that GSCM under her leadership can move forward with strength and clarity of vision.

Her departure not only disrupts the momentum she created but also raises questions about the future direction of our organization. We believe that her skills, vision, and energy are vital to navigating the challenges we currently face.

We urge the Board to reconsider this decision, engage with Dr. Grant to address any concerns, and ultimately reinstate her to ensure the continuity of the positive changes she initiated.

The undersigned stand united in this request, as we believe it is in the best interest of our organization, its employees, and the girls we all serve.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to your prompt response.