Frances Hesselbein (November 1, 1915 – December 11, 2022) was an American businesswoman and writer. She served as the CEO of the

Girl Scouts of the USA Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly referred to as simply Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. Founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, it was organized a ...

, from 1976 to 1990, and the president and CEO of the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum, at the

University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs The Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) is one of 17 schools comprising the University of Pittsburgh. Founded in 1957 to study national and international public administration, GSPIA prides itself on its "Local to Global" di ...

(GSPIA), Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership.

Career

Hesselbein took classes at the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown Junior College in 1936. Between 1965 and 1976, she rose from volunteer troop leader to CEO and held the position of CEO for thirteen years until 1990. During her tenure, the Girl Scouts attained a membership of 2.25 million girls with a workforce of 780,000, mainly volunteers. In 1990, Hesselbein left the Girl Scouts to run the Leader to Leader Institute (formerly known as the

Peter F. Drucker Peter Ferdinand Drucker (; ; November 19, 1909 – November 11, 2005) was an Austrian-American management consultant, educator, and author, whose writings contributed to the philosophical and practical foundations of the modern business co ...

Foundation for Nonprofit Management). After Drucker's death in 2005, the foundation was renamed after Hesselbein in 2012; it is now known as the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute. In 2009, she helped to found the Hesselbein Global Academy for Student Leadership and Civic Engagement at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

. Hesselbein is the co-editor of 27 books published in 29 languages and the author of ''Hesselbein on Leadership'' and ''My Life in Leadership''. Hesselbein served on the boards of the Mutual of America Life Insurance Company, the Bright China Social Fund, California Institute of Advanced Management, and the

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC), is the graduate school of education, health, and psychology of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, it has served as one of the official faculties and ...

Presidents Advisory Council.

Awards

In 1998, Hesselbein was awarded the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merito ...

for her work with the

. She turned 100 years old in November 2015. Hesselbein was denoted a Pitt Legacy Laureate of the

in 2000. She has received 22 honorary doctoral degrees.

Personal life

Frances Hesselbein was married to John Hesselbein. She died at her home in

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river tha ...

, on December 11, 2022, at the age of 107.

Publications

Author

* Hesselbein, Frances, foreword by Jim Collins, ''My Life in Leadership'', 2011 * Hesselbein, Frances, and General Eric K. Shinseki, United States Army, Ret. ''Be, Know, Do: Leadership the Army Way'', 2004 * Hesselbein, Frances, foreword by Jim Collins, ''Hesselbein on Leadership'', 2002

Editor

* Hesselbein, Frances and

Marshall Goldsmith Marshall Goldsmith (born March 20, 1949) is an American executive leadership coach and author. Early life and education Goldsmith was born in Valley Station, Kentucky, and received a degree in mathematical economics from Rose-Hulman Institute o ...

, eds. ''The Organization of the Future 2: Visions, Strategies, and Insights on Managing in a New Era'', 2009.

References

External links

Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hesselbein, Frances 1915 births 2022 deaths People from Johnstown, Pennsylvania American centenarians Girl Scouts of the USA national leaders University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown alumni Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Women centenarians