Girl Scouts of Nassau County recently elected its Board of Directors Officers, Board of Directors Members-at-Large and Board Development Committee for the 2021-23 term during its 56th Annual Meeting. Board Members include Lauren Summa, who was elected to serve as a Member-at-Large of the Board of Directors. The new board consists of life-long Girl Scouts, community leaders, nonprofit and corporative executives and many other board veterans. In her role, Summa will continue to serve the mission to provide leadership, innovation and constant support to the Girl Scouts of Nassau County Council.
“We are very grateful to have many of our past Board of Directors join us for another term and welcome aboard several new members who we believe will make wonderful additions,” Randell M. Bynum, CEO of Girl Scouts of Nassau County said. “This outstanding group of professionals will be invaluable to our organization, as we continue to improve the lives of Girl Scouts in Nassau County.”
Summa is serving her second term as a member-at-large of the Board of Directors for the Girl Scouts of Nassau County. She was raised in Pittsburgh, PA, where she participated in Girl Scouts at a young age in a troop led by her mother. Her involvement in Girl Scouts instilled in her the importance of challenging yourself to achieve your goals and to push for women to have a seat at the table.
A Dean’s List scholar at Hofstra University, Summa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast journalism and a Master of Arts degree in speech communication. During her time in college, she was President of the Hofstra University Chapter of the Radio-Television News Directors Association, a member of the Broadcast Education Association, the New York Women’s Agenda and an advocacy intern at the Women’s Sports Foundation.
She has more than ten years of experience in the public sector. Summa began her career in politics in 2009 as an aide to State Senator Craig Johnson. As an advocate of women’s issues, she proposed the idea for new legislation (S6894A) sponsored by Senator Johnson, which would require insurance coverage for the HALO breast pap test to detect the risk of developing breast cancer. As a proponent of equality for women and to help gain support for the New York State Fair Pay Act sponsored by Senator Johnson, Summa came up with the idea of distributing lilies throughout the 7th Senate District at train stations in honor of Lilly Ledbetter. She also worked with OfficeMax on their annual “A Day Made Better” campaign that honors teachers nationwide.
In 2011, Summa became Supervisor Jon Kaiman’s director of constituent affairs at the Town of North Hempstead. Currently, she serves as Supervisor Judi Bosworth’s resident advocate for the Town of North Hempstead and works tirelessly on constituent issues. Summa also empowers young people by mentoring, organizing professional development events and networking opportunities.
