Nassau County Girl Scout CEO retires

“I have been blessed to have the best job in the world for the past 16 years. None of my accomplishments are my own, they are all the results of great teamwork and collaboration among our girls, volunteers, staff and the community at large.”

Donna Ceravolo, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Nassau County

Adjusting her blue and green Girl Scout scarf, Donna Ceravolo, 66, Girl Scouts of Nassau County CEO, smiled as she took a deep breath. Since publicly announcing her retirement, she says she hasn’t had a moment to pause to catch up with her emotions.

For the last sixteen years, since 2000, Ceravolo has served the Nassau County community by leading over 100,000 Girl Scouts and 80,000 adult volunteers. Her missions she says, has always been staying ahead of the curve and helping her girls develop socially and reach success in the business world. Though retiring is a bittersweet, she’s selling her Freeport home and excited to move to Albuquerque, N.M.

“I’ve always wanted to live in the desert,” she gushed excitedly. “Though I am going to miss my work and friends I’ve made here in Freeport.”

During her tenure, Ceravolo secured the future of the Girl Scouts of Nassau County by selling under-utilized camp properties in Hampton Bay and East Hampton. Selling the properties to the national conservation groups looking for open space properties to convert to parks and public use approximately eight years ago, for a hefty amount, has provided financial stability for the organization’s missions. According to Ceravolo, it was a price the board could not turn down. The revenue of the properties has successfully supplemented girl programming in the county—an accomplishment Ceravolo is proud of.

Girls Scouts in Nassau County is a part of the national Girl Scout movement. In Nassau County there are approximately 19,000 Girl Scouts and 7000 volunteers. Ceravolo says she’s proud of the impact the organization makes throughout the county, but especially in the individual lives of the girls who participate. Though she will miss her work with the organization, she candidly says she is ready to start a new chapter in her life, along side her husband, Wells Jones who is also retiring from the nonprofit sector in the next six months.

“I am looking forward to the beautiful views all around me. Everywhere you look in New Mexico is just beautiful vistas,” Ceravolos said. “I look forward to making new friends while still keeping my old ones.”

Under her guidance, the GSNC has developed community partnerships with Northwell Health, DHL, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Nassau County Bar Association, Adelphi University, Wells Fargo, Bethpage Federal Credit Union, ATT, Motorola and more. She helped over see robotics and STEM programs that established additional partnerships with Hofstra University, Molloy College and Vaughn College.

Before moving to New Mexico in the next couple of weeks, Ceravolos will continue to over-see the grand re-opening of the NSGS’s new service center/offices in Garden City. The GSNC board of directors the Girl Scouts of the USA and Evergreen Executive Source will be announcing a successor at a latter date.

“I have been blessed to have the best job in the world for the past 16 years,” Cervalo said. “None of my accomplishments are my own, they are all the results of great teamwork and collaboration among our girls, volunteers, staff and the community at large.”