Updated: October 17, 2022
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2022 Outstanding Women in Business
Outstanding Women in Business: Steen guided a nonprofit through a milestone merger
Photo | Matthew Wright
Carole Steen
By Susan Shalhoub
In the late 1970s, Carole Steen, who had an undergraduate degree in chemistry, began working for Eastman Kodak in Rochester, New York., eventually becoming a quality assurance chemist. She relocated to Michigan, then Massachusetts – still working for Eastman Kodak – having gotten married and with plans to build a family.
But the complexities of juggling a family and work were as difficult to navigate as they are now, and things haven’t changed much, she said: She had trouble finding child care, so she took a nine-year hiatus, having three sons over six years.
After some time, she pursued a master’s degree in accounting from Bentley University in Waltham. In 1999, her daughter Emily was born.
Steen was hired by a public accounting firm in Worcester and got her first exposure to the nonprofit industry and to the local chapter of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America.
“The Girl Scouts was a customer of ours,” said Steen. “So, I participated in an audit with their audit manager. I was fascinated with how committed their staff and volunteers were to the organization, even as auditors.”
When Steen learned that a controller at the nonprofit was leaving a position in 2000, she knew she had to apply. She got the job, and on the horizon was a very large project.
Steen herself had never had the opportunity to be a Girl Scout. But she was happy her daughter could take advantage of all the opportunities the group’s programming had to offer.
“Emily was a Girl Scout,” Steen said proudly. “And we did everything: field trips, singalongs, overnight camping. I laugh because that was more roughing it than I had ever done in my life.”
Steen now serves as the Girl Scouts council’s chief financial officer. A stunning accomplishment was her work guiding the council through a merger. Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts was formed in 2008, after a merger of Girl Scouts of Montachusett Council, Girl Scouts of Pioneer Valley, and Girl Scouts of Western Massachusetts. The transaction involved combining three budgets, three office properties, and numerous camp properties.
Steen was the perfect woman for the job, said Pattie Hallberg, CEO of Girl Scouts of Central & Western Massachusetts.
“Carole has a really deep knowledge of financial systems and best practices for nonprofits. She can explain to our board – or to anyone who needs to know – what a given number is and what it means better than anyone I’ve ever worked with,” she said.
Steen received recognition for her work during the COVID pandemic in securing federal Paycheck Protection Program loans for the council, keeping 37 full-time staffers employed.
Steen is busy at the Girl Scout council offices, but doesn’t like to be idle. She knows there are things in society that need to be changed, and she jumps in to help. She has served on the Southbridge Scholarship Committee and participated in mentoring events at Girls, Inc. of Worcester.
“I am not one to sit around twiddling my thumbs and complain. I try to be active,” she said.
“I had the opportunity to mentor young girls at Girls Inc., where we go directly to girls, providing information, and that opportunity allows me to take a break from my day-to-day activity, socialize, and educate.”
A cause important to Steen is racial justice. Bias exists in our communities, and part of mentoring young girls is preparing them on what to expect, she said, and giving them the confidence and character to face these challenges head on.
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Anonymous
October 18, 2022
Congratulations Carole. Well deserved!
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