Leanna Clark

If Leanna Clark could impart one piece of advice to the next generation of leaders, it would be to always take Theodore Roosevelt’s advice to “dare greatly.”

Don’t be afraid to take risks and use each mistake as a learning opportunity. Be as Roosevelt says a leader “who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” Clark has taken this advice to heart in her new role as the CEO of Girl Scouts of Colorado, the preeminent leadership development organization for girls that seeks to instill courage, confidence and character in young women. Clark came to Girl Scouts of Colorado in May 2020 with more than 25 years of business experience. However, COVID placed pressure on the organization, as it has so many companies and nonprofits.

Clark, who oversees 120 full-time employees, 20,000 girl members and 10,000 volunteers led her team through the challenges, leaving Girl Scouts of Colorado on solid financial ground. “We envision that the organization, in five years, will have rebounded stronger than ever from COVID, diversified its revenue streams by better maximizing its eight camp/ranch properties and ramping up fundraising, and has repositioned itself not as ‘cookies and campfires,’ but as the premier leadership organization for girls and young women,” says Clark.

According to her employees, Clark’s gift for partnership and extraordinary creativity will help build upon the organization’s longstanding history while modernizing the Girl Scouts brand. “Her leadership has already brought on amazing partnerships with local restaurants to develop Girl Scout cookie desserts during cookie season and a partnership with CBS4 to show strong, female leaders in the community inspiring young women.”

Clark’s career trajectory shows a legacy of success as a leader. With 25 years of business experience, including 12 years as a small business owner, Clark more recently served nine years as Vice Chancellor of University Communications for the University of Colorado Denver. She currently serves as the board chair of the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce and is on the board of directors for the International Women’s Forum of Colorado, the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation and the Colorado Music Hall of Fame.

Her awards have included recognition as one of the Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Colorado by the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce, a PowerBook award recipient, and one of the Forty Under 40 top young business leaders by the Denver Business Journal. Clark now adds the honor of being named a Titan of industry to her list of accolades.

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