Remarks from the Stage
2026 Leading Women Awards
Monica Roberts, CEO, Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts
Good afternoon, and welcome to our 33rd Annual Leading Women Awards!
My name is Monica Roberts, and I am honored to serve as the Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts.
It’s Women’s History Month, a perfect time to celebrate women who lead with courage, compassion, and conviction, and a moment to recognize the type of leadership we need right now.
Today, we are proud to recognize our three extraordinary Leading Women honorees:
- Zamawa Arenas
- Dr. Cherié Butts
- Yie-Hsin Hung
…And three remarkable Girl Scouts:
- Siena Hesbach
- Brooke Mitchell
- Faith Webb-Jones
These inspiring leaders are making a difference in their communities and beyond, and I can’t wait for you to hear from them. Please join me in giving all of our Leading Women and Girl Scouts a well-deserved round of applause.
Thank you to our presenting sponsor, State Street Investment Management, whose generous support helps make today’s celebration possible. We are deeply grateful for their partnership and commitment to Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts, as well as for the support of all of our generous sponsors and table hosts.
And of course, I would like to thank our incredible Host Committee, chaired by Gizella Crawford, who is also a Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts Board Member, as well as our dedicated Board of Directors for their leadership and support.
Would the Host Committee and Board please stand? We can’t thank you enough.
I’d also like to recognize the Women’s Advisory Network for their support. You may notice members wearing beautiful scarves, and if you’re interested in learning more, they’re easy to find.
This event holds a special place in my heart.
When I attended last year, it was one of my first opportunities to meet so many of our extraordinary donors, supporters, and volunteers who give their time, talent, and resources to our movement.
By a show of hands, how many repeat attendees do we have here today? And how many of you are joining us for the first time?
Whether this is your first Leading Women Awards or your thirty-third, thank you for being here.
And of course, I want to recognize the girls in the room today. If you are a school-aged Girl Scout, would you please stand? You are the reason we are here. Girl Scouting is about building courage, confidence, and character, and helping you become leaders who make the world a better place.
As I prepared for today, my team asked me to talk about the moment we’re in and specifically how I feel as a Black woman, given the persistent gender and racial inequities that persist. I chose not to. Not because I’m unaware of the challenge of the moment, or the challenges that remain for women and girls—I know them firsthand. I have experienced and lived with them.
You may be familiar with the Status of Women and Girls in Massachusetts report produced by the Women’s Foundation of Massachusetts and the Wellesley Centers for Women. If you haven’t seen it yet, I recommend taking time to read it.
The study focuses on women’s earnings and labor force participation, education pathways and outcomes, and the health of girls and women as key measures of wellbeing and opportunity.
While Massachusetts ranks among the strongest states for women on many indicators, the report notes, “Despite high overall earnings and near-universal health insurance coverage, many women in Massachusetts experience lower economic and health outcomes than men, and substantial gaps persist among women by race, ethnicity, and income. The gender pay gap remains pronounced, particularly in the highest paying occupations and for women of color, reflecting ongoing occupational segregation and the systematic undervaluation of work traditionally performed by women.”
We have made progress - and yet much remains the same.
But I did not want to focus on how the persistent gender inequities, compounded by race and socioeconomics, make me feel, or how women of color are being impacted. Why? Because I am tired.
I am tired of having to repeat what we already know. Tired of women and our allies having to publish data set after data set and report after report to remind the world that gender disparity is real and consequential. I am tired of being asked how I feel about the even deeper disparities for women of color.
The report and my interactions with girls around Eastern Massachusetts amplified my determination and fueled the fire in me. I have decided that rather than talk about how this moment and continued gender inequities feel, I will focus on deepening my actions from every seat I sit in.
And I certainly can do that in this seat as the CEO of Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts, where we serve 19,000 girls, more than any other girl-serving organization in this region, and where we have the ability to serve many more.
While we need and will work with allies, we cannot rely on people who benefit from the current structures and systems to create change for us.
Instead of spending most of our energy asking people to make space for us, Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts is going to help our girls create space.
We are not asking for a seat at someone else’s table. We are not even planning to pull up a chair to their table. Together, we are going to build our own table - and we will fill it with people of excellence who are like-minded and committed.
We can and will help create a space for our girls that cannot be ignored. This is the commitment I make on behalf of Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts to every girl in our footprint. We will support girls in constructing the realities they want, the rooms they want, the tables they want for themselves.
In meeting Zamawa Arenas, she shared that she became an entrepreneur out of fierce determination, choosing to create her own opportunities when none were available and, in doing so, building the vision she saw for herself. And in the Gold Award Girl Scouts, you will meet today, I see young women who have learned to create space and not ask for permission - who know how to work within systems when needed, and how to step outside the lines to build something new when that’s what it takes.
This is the work ahead of us.
I am tired of talk.
I do not plan to wait for “space makers” to give us a seat. Until they are ready, we will build tables made for us and by us, and we will inevitably change the face of industries, communities, and this Commonwealth. This is the legacy of Girl Scouts, girls and women who refuse to wait for permission to lead.
And it is a legacy I hope you will support today with your giving, your influence, and your time. Our Girl Scouts are ready, and I see them leading the way. Our job is to stand shoulder to shoulder with them to do what needs to be done.
Because when we invest in girls, we are shaping the future and building the kind of community that matters. For them, and for all of us.
Thank you.
