Girl Scouts executive stepping down
5/15/2015, 11:02 a.m.
Viola O. Baskerville is ending her tenure as chief executive officer of the Girl Scouts of the Commonwealth of Virginia (GSCV).
Mrs. Baskerville, 63, who formerly served as state secretary of administration, a member of the House of Delegates and on Richmond City Council, is retiring Friday from the regional Girl Scouts post after three years.
Her successor, Molly Fuller, a former CEO of the Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast, will take over Monday, May 18.
During her tenure, Mrs. Baskerville relocated the GSCV’s headquarters back to the city, guided development of a strategic plan and gained renewal of the group’s charter with the national Girl Scouts organization.
In her honor, the council has created a scholarship fund in Mrs. Baskerville’s name to assist girls to participate in scouting.
The Richmond native became GSCV’s interim CEO in 2012 and later became the permanent chief executive officer. She was brought in after a previous CEO was found to have embezzled funds and was fired.
“Leadership is about how well you listen to and help others,” Mrs. Baskerville said. “Any success I have attained is because I listened to someone who was much wiser than myself.”
Founded in 1913, GSCV serves more than 12,000 girls and 5,700 adults in 30 counties, as well as the cities of Richmond, Colonial Heights, Emporia, Fredericksburg, Hopewell and Petersburg.
