Dawn Prasifka has more than 25 years of experience with nonprofit organizations in Arkansas. Before joining Girl Scouts-Diamonds of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas as CEO, she was the executive director of the Centers for Youth & Families Foundation, director of operations for Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation and volunteer coordinator for Arkansas Hospice.
Education: Prasifka received a Bachelor of Science from Southeast Missouri State University.
Dawn Prasifka is a member of the Downtown Little Rock Rotary Club, Mount St. Mary Alumnae Board past president and a graduate of Leadership Greater Little Rock.
How has the mission of the Girl Scouts changed over the years?
Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place. The mission has stayed true to what our founder, Juliette Gordon Low, intended; however, our methods have evolved to stay relevant to the girls of today.
What’s something about the Girl Scouts that our readers would be surprised to learn?
While some people still think of us as just cookies, campfires and friendship bracelets, Girl Scouts are so much more. Girl Scouts are big thinkers, groundbreakers and role models. They design robots, start garage bands and improve their communities — and yes, they sell the best cookies on the planet. As a Girl Scout, she’s expanding her G.I.R.L. (go-getter, innovator, risk-taker, leader) potential. As a go-getter, she’s determined to succeed — failure is no reason not to get back up and try again. She learns to tap into her ability to be an innovator, looking for creative ways to take action. In the safe environment of Girl Scouts, she can be a risk-taker, learning to try new things and embrace the unfamiliar.
Every year, Girl Scouts collectively spend more than 75 million hours improving their communities, exhibiting the traits of confidence, responsibility and commitment to our world that will make them tomorrow’s leaders.
This is the 100th year that the Girl Scouts have sold cookies. Do you expect that tradition to last another 100 years?
The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the largest girl-led business in the world, and given the program’s history, combined with people’s unwavering love of Girl Scout Cookies, who knows what the next 100 years will bring. Our cookie program helps develop girls into leaders through learning five essential life skills: goal-setting, decision-making, money management, people skills and business ethics.
How did you get involved in nonprofits as a career?
I was a teacher and single mother. There came a time when I realized I needed to change careers to better support my children, but I wanted to stay in a profession that served others. I found that the nonprofit arena is a perfect fit for me because it’s a career in which you can change the community through service to others.
What was your biggest career mistake and what did you learn from it?
I think the best way you can learn is through your mistakes, and I will always be learning. My biggest career mistake was determining my path in life when I was young, without a plan B. I had a one-track plan and did not evaluate my potential. It wasn’t until I was faced with some hard challenges as a young adult that I had the chance to pursue all opportunities and be innovative in growing my God-given talents. I took risks to push myself out of my comfort zone so I could learn more about myself, and that is where I found the servant-leader I strive to be. That ability to be a risk-taker and going outside one’s comfort zone is one of the many benefits girls gain by participating in Girl Scouts.