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42 n e w h a v e n B I Z | M a r c h / A p r i l 2 0 1 9 n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m W o m e n W h o M e a n B u s i n e s s the way rising from sales manager and division manager to executive director and branch manager of the Hartford office and head of the Stamford Private Wealth Manage- ment office. e aermath of the 2008 finan- cial crisis, however, began to put a damper on her enthusiasm. By the time Barneby turned 60, in 2012, she was contemplating "the best way to spend the last third of my life." roughout her career, Barneby had belonged to women's groups and mentored women, and those connections led her to a posting for the CEO's job for the Girl Scouts of Connecticut. "at night, I told my husband [Kirk Barneby], 'I think I've found the job I want to do.'" e organization's board of di- rectors agreed with her assessment. "It was a pretty easy to decision to hire Mary," says Patricia Bowen, a former board member and chair of Girl Scouts of Connecticut. "We didn't think we could attract any- body with her talents." Since becoming CEO of Girl Scouts of Connecticut, Barneby has balanced and stabilized the budget, enhanced programing, restruc- tured the organization to be more consumer-oriented and stepped up efforts to reach girls in underserved areas such as Bridgeport, Nor- walk, Hartford, Danbury and New Haven, where she and her team re- cently formed a new troop of about a dozen girls, ages six to 12, based at the YMCA on Howe Street. "ey are smart, remarkable young women and girls," says Barneby, who is the troop leader. "I marvel at how curious they are, how much energy they have and how excited they are to go out into the world. "Our goal is to have the troop grow and get some volunteers in- volved so it will be self-sustaining," she adds. Girl Scouts of Connecticut Board President Sheryl Sleeva describes Barneby as a "a thoughtful, strategic and caring leader" who "puts her heart and soul into every aspect of the Girl Scouts organization with full conviction of the critical role that its mission and purpose plays for the girls of our state." Barneby frequently travels around Connecticut to interact with Girl Scouts, troop leaders and volunteers. "Mary is just always there for the organization and the people who look to her as a leader, " says former Girl Scouts of Connecticut board chair Bowen. Barneby's selflessness doesn't sur- prise longtime friend and former Merrill Lynch colleague Madeline Weinstein. "I think she really has found the right place to matter," Weinstein says, "and is 100-percent commit- ted to helping people in need." Barneby still has a hand in the financial world, as an independent director of the board of trustees for First Investors Income Funds, a mutual-fund company. But her primary focus, as CEO of Girl Scouts of Connecticut, is "helping to shape the next genera- tion of leaders." Creating new traditions Barneby is changing perceptions about Girl Scouts. Many people may not realize, for example, that selling cookies each spring helps the organization to generate income to support key projects and benefit their host communities. In 2018, Girl Scouts of Con- necticut sold 2.1 million boxes of cookies, generating $2 million in vital revenues. Even camping is designed to impart real-world lessons. "Camp CEO," for example, brings in female business leaders to coach girls about the process and challenges of creating a small business, including marketing and distribution, and to teach them the value of networking. e Girl Scouts of Connecticut owns and operates seven day camps and one residential camp in the state. "Every summer, we send about 600 girls to our camps and give away about $400,000 in financial assistance to go to camp," Barneby says. With a worldwide membership of 2.6 million, Girl Scouts is the largest leadership organization for girls on the planet. But membership is declining, and there's competition from the Boy Scouts of America, which announced in 2017 that girls could now join. Since then, the Girl Scouts has added new badges to their roster, including environmental steward- ship, robotics, cybersecurity, space science and mechanical engineer- ing. "I feel so strongly about the power of single-gender experience in a safe environment, where girls can try new things, develop skills, take on leadership roles and feel comfortable failing," Barneby says. "If we don't give them these oppor- tunities to grow and lead, they may never have the muscle to do it." Barneby also explains that Girl Scouts can be every bit as adventur- ous as Boy Scouts in pursuing rock climbing, ax throwing and other physically demanding activities. "We always looking for ways to bring more volunteers and experts with these skills to work with troop leaders," she says. "We've had girls walking the Appalachian Trail and doing three-day canoe trips on the Connecticut River." As for the future, Barneby says, "If we're going to survive, we need to meet girls where they are today, and that includes addressing issues girls are grappling with, like body image, bullying and emotional health." "We're living in a world where there's not a lot of respect for girls from the top," Barneby adds. "We want girls to be strong, so they're not compromised." n To both business associates and friends, Barneby 'always found a way to do it all.' Mary Barneby Continued from Page 15 PHOTO/DAVID OTTENSTEIN

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