Ella Zhang is a high school senior and a Gold Award Girl Scout with over eight years of experience in Girl Scouts. She’s passionate about environmental sustainability, youth empowerment, and sparking curiosity through meaningful conversations. As a host of Always a Girl Scout, Ella loves talking with inspiring women and sharing their stories to encourage girls to dream big and make a difference. Outside of Girl Scouts, she can usually be found swimming laps or going on café-hopping adventures around town.
Always a Girl Scout: A New Podcast
Stories of leadership that start in Girl Scouts—and last a lifetime.
From Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital, this new podcast spotlights the lifelong identity, skills, and community that begin in Girl Scouts—and continue to shape how we learn, work, and lead.
Hosted by Girl Scouts, each episode connects badges and service to real-world pathways—and digs into the essentials that carry you forward: clear communication, practical problem-solving, and ethical choices. Expect candid conversations about resilience, mentorship, and showing up for one another.
New episodes every Friday!
Meet the Hosts!
Ella Zhang
Sarah Roelke
Sarah Roelke is a high school senior and Ambassador Girl Scout in Troop 4425. In addition to co-hosting Always a Girl Scout, she serves as a Service Unit Delegate, member of the Girl Advisory Board, leader of the Cookie Captains program, and is currently pursuing her Gold Award. Sarah is passionate about medicine, public health, and empowering others to make informed decisions. Through the podcast, she hopes to highlight the stories of Girl Scouts who are making a difference in their communities, and the power of conversations to bring people together. Outside of Girl Scouts, she enjoys gardening and digging deep into research with students at George Mason University.
Podcast Guests:
- Bonnie Barczykowski — CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA since 2023, she previously led the Eastern Missouri council for more than a decade, where she expanded access for youth, transformed programs, and ran a $50 million fundraising campaign.
- Noorain F. Khan — Longtime Girl Scout and former Ford Foundation executive who oversaw a $500 million grantmaking portfolio and launched major disability‑rights initiatives; she now serves as the National President of Girl Scouts of the USA, presiding over 1.8 million members and chairing its National Board of Directors.
- Dr. Tanya Harrison — Planetary scientist, future-focused science strategist, author, and one of the world’s go-to voices on Mars and space exploration. She is currently a Fellow of the Outer Space Institute and the Director of Earth and Space Science at Mission Control in Ottawa, Canada.
- Katie Payne — Fantasy illustrator and art director whose work spans book covers, games and apps; she served as lead artist for Microsoft Cloud Games, helped produce the hit game SongPop, and currently directs and creates art projects for Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere universe.
- Dr. Elizabeth Carr — Clinical psychologist who founded Kentlands Psychotherapy in 2005 after six years as a Navy clinical psychologist; she now leads, mentors and consults at the practice.
- Catherine Curtin — Stage and screen actor best known for playing correctional officer Wanda Bell on Orange Is the New Black, with recurring roles in Insecure, Stranger Things and Homeland and numerous Broadway and film credits.
- Regina Thompson — Former FBI Assistant Director who spent 20 years leading intelligence, investigative, and crisis‑management programs—including a stint on the SWAT team’s forward‑deployed operations center. She now serves as Senior Director of Global Security at GE Aerospace and adjunct faculty at the National Intelligence University.
- Dr. Michaela Musilova — Award‑winning astrobiologist and explorer who has conducted space-related research with NASA, ESA, CalTech and other institutions around the world. She was also the Commander of more than 30 simulated Moon and Mars missions—the most missions on record—and now heads the non‑profit XtremeFrontiers and the Astro Seven Summits project.
How to Listen and Follow
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