The Gold Award, the highest honor in Girl Scouting, has been awarded to 35 local girls this year from the Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council (GSACPC). The prestigious Gold Award is presented to girls in grades nine to 12 who have utilized the skills acquired in Girl Scouts to showcase sustainable and measurable impact through problem-solving of relevant issues on a local or national level by completing a Gold Award-worthy project.

“Making an impact on our world is what being a Girl Scout is all about. Each Gold Award project is a journey that tells a story of a girl and the cause that is important to her,” says Mary Mitchell, co-CEO of GSACPC. “Gold Award Girl Scouts set the gold standard in our community, and GSACPC is proud to honor an astounding 35 awardees this year who are making lasting change.”

The 2024 Gold Award class represents a variety of service projects that target an array of relevant issues. Projects included establishing programs to improve mental and physical health, sustainability, and animal welfare, as well as addressing gender bias, lack of medical access, gaps in educational curriculum and more.

"Gold Awardees have long laid the groundwork for impactful projects through their involvement in Girl Scouts and this is just the beginning for this group of young innovators," says Christina Spicer, co-CEO of GSACPC. "Recipients are not only carrying this honor and meaningful change with them for life, but also setting themselves apart in scholarship applications, college admission essays, and job interviews.”

The 2024 Gold Award Girl Scouts and their impactful projects are:
Tara Bird – Educational Books for Preschoolers and Kindergartners about Water Safety (Cave Creek)
Charlotte Boardman – Private Lessons Post-COVID (Mesa)
London Brown – Loom Love (Tempe)
Ella Chevalier – Eye Wear for All (Chandler)
Emily Coronado – Visual and Performing Arts Mural (Peoria)
Mezaan Crosby – Muslim Girls Mentoring Program (Chandler)
Payton Dymek – Use Your Voice Platform (Phoenix)
Lana Fischer – The Promise Trail - A Piece of History (San Tan Valley)
Brianna Fornoff – Love Our Schools Day (Wickenburg)
Zoe Golston – Healing Young Hearts (Scottsdale)
Cassandra Gookin – Stop The Silence: Support Resources For Everyone (Scottsdale)
Lauryn Hardaway – Dream In STEAM (Cave Creek)
Adhelle Kellogg – Pride Affirmation Walk (Surprise)
Julia Kim – Helping Hand Yoga (Chandler)
Haley Lee – Preventing Period Poverty (Chandler)
Rachel Leppla – A Change to Energy (Peoria)
Abby LoManto – Liberty Wildlife Medical Information Boxes (Youngtown)
Emily McGee – Burrowing Owl Project (Goodyear)
Sophia Moreno – Capturing Impacts of the 1970s Labor Rights Movement (Tempe)
Megan Motter – Dark Skies (Cave Creek)
McKinley Paltzik – Welcome to America (Scottsdale)
Jenny Pasternack – Reading Buddies (Scottsdale)
Amanda Ray – Low-Cost Ingredient Recipes (Phoenix)
Jayla Richardson – Music Soothes the Soul: Music As Medicine (Scottsdale)
Maya Schnee – Garden (Phoenix)
Cameron Shinyeda – So You Want to Fly Podcast (Chandler)
Isabella Small – Type 1 Diabetes Youth Connect Organization (Tempe)
Diana Spellman – Scottish Highland Dancing in Arizona (Tempe)
Olivia Stone – Tranquil Trails Labyrinth (Mesa)
Madisyn Van Hemert – Project A (Buckeye)
Spencer Wareing – Saguaro-Pueblo Bilingual Performance Outreach Program (Scottsdale)
Winter Gonzales Warnicke – Teens for TNR (Phoenix)
Tiffany Wong – Kickstart the Arts (Scottsdale)
Claire Xu – Music for Community (Peoria)
Lilly Zahnow – Digital Songbook (Scottsdale)