Counsel for the decisions that define an organization.

Leanna approached culture as something employees should help create—not something leadership simply announced. She initiated an organization-wide process that invited employees to define the culture they wanted and the behaviors that would bring it to life. That work identified five core attributes: Accountability, Collaboration, Integrity, Service-Oriented and Values Differences.

The process evolved into "Better Together," a staff-created culture theme and shared framework for how employees worked with one another.

Alongside the culture work, Leanna partnered with the HR team to strengthen the organizational systems that supported employees and managers. This included more consistent approaches to performance management and compensation, clearer expectations around communication and accountability, regular opportunities for employee feedback, and new ways to strengthen transparency, connection and recognition across a statewide workforce.

The result was an organizational culture supported by both shared values and practical systems. Employees had a voice in defining how they wanted to work together, while managers and teams gained greater clarity around expectations, communication, decision-making and accountability.

The broader people and culture strategy contributed to a significant reduction in employee turnover and established systems and practices designed to endure beyond any one leader—leaving stronger organizational infrastructure and a shared framework for working "Better Together."

Leanna made fundraising an organizational priority, strengthening the infrastructure, leadership and strategy behind it while personally expanding relationships with donors, business leaders and community partners. The organization sharpened its case for support, broadened donor engagement and connected philanthropy more closely with community visibility, strategic partnerships and the experiences donors could make possible for girls. She transformed Women of Distinction from a once-a-year event into an ongoing community of alumnae and supporters, building year-round engagement and cultivating honorees as long-term donors, advocates and champions who returned to support Girl Scouts year after year.

She also created a new mechanism for corporate support through co-branded patch programs: companies funded Girl Scout experiences aligned with their business and community priorities, while girls earned a distinctive patch with the partner's logo incorporated into the design through meaningful programming. The model created a tangible win-win—new revenue and experiences for Girl Scouts, authentic community engagement and visibility for corporate partners, and, for companies in fields where women remain underrepresented, a way to help build awareness and interest among a future female workforce pipeline.

Annual fundraising nearly tripled during Leanna's tenure, while the organization broadened donor engagement and built stronger fundraising capacity for the future. More than 30 paid patch partnerships with corporate and community partners added another scalable source of support and engagement, and the co-branded patch approach became a model adopted by Girl Scout councils across the country. Fundraising became more than a development function—it became integrated with organizational strategy, external relationships, visibility and leadership.

Leanna forged a partnership with the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce to create CU Denver Boots to Suits, connecting student veterans with business executives who could provide mentoring, career guidance and professional networks. The model also engaged employers through internships and hiring opportunities and raised corporate support for professional attire so graduating veterans could enter interviews prepared and confident.

The program's community partnerships grew over time. PCL Construction provided the seed grant for the Suit Up Our Veterans Fund, MillerCoors later contributed to the business-attire fund, and Brooks Brothers became a program partner providing free, custom-tailored professional attire for participants.

Boots to Suits quickly gained national attention as a model for collaboration among higher education, business and community leaders, including a national feature on PBS NewsHour as well as extensive local media coverage. By its second anniversary, nearly 200 student veterans had participated, 94% of graduates had found employment within 90 days, and participating students who had not yet graduated had a 95% retention rate. The program later expanded across CU campuses and remains active years after its launch.

Leanna built a deliberate strategy to change how older Girl Scouts were seen by Colorado's business and civic community. The goal was to move beyond the familiar image of young girls selling cookies and give influential leaders the opportunity to see accomplished, poised young women already demonstrating leadership—and recognize them as the next generation of women leaders and part of Colorado's future workforce.

She intentionally created opportunities to put older girls in rooms where that perception could change firsthand. Each year, Leanna invited a Gold Award Girl Scout to accompany her on the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Exchange (LEX), an invitation-only trip that brings together more than 150 of the region's business and civic leaders to visit another community, study innovative approaches and bring those ideas back to Colorado. Rather than simply attending, the Girl Scout shared the stage with Leanna for GSCO's speaking remarks—giving some of Colorado's most influential leaders the opportunity to hear directly from an accomplished young woman about her leadership, work and impact.

Leanna also looked for ways to position older Girl Scouts within established platforms that already celebrated accomplished women. The Denver Business Journal's Outstanding Women in Business Awards had recognized leading women in the region for years and had added a Legacy Award honoring lifetime achievement. Leanna proposed bookending that recognition with the future: creating a Future Outstanding Woman in Business honor for a Gold Award Girl Scout.

The result was an annual recognition that put an accomplished Girl Scout on the same stage as some of Colorado's most successful women—reinforcing the idea that the young women of Girl Scouts weren't simply participants in a youth organization, but part of the pipeline of women who would lead Colorado next. Leanna extended the same strategy into higher education by developing a partnership with CU Denver that offered guaranteed admission to eligible Gold Award Girl Scouts, a dedicated Day on Campus and outreach to Girl Scout families statewide.

The strategy moved older Girl Scouts beyond recognition within Girl Scouts and into Colorado's broader leadership ecosystem—giving them visibility, networks and opportunities normally reserved for established professionals while creating stronger incentives for girls to pursue the Highest Awards.

The CU Denver partnership alone reached more than 15,000 Girl Scout families. Among surveyed Day on Campus attendees, 100% said they would recommend the experience and 77% said the visit made them more likely to apply to CU Denver.

Together, the initiatives helped position older Girl Scouts as what they already were: the next generation of Colorado's women leaders.

Leanna and her team developed Build Like a Girl, bringing Girl Scouts together with Kiewit professionals for immersive, hands-on experiences in construction and engineering. Girls operate equipment and simulators, explore rigging and measurement, work with materials including wood and concrete, and meet women succeeding in the industry—giving them both the experience and role models to imagine themselves in those careers.

Three years in, Build Like a Girl has reached nearly 1,000 girls across Girl Scout age levels. The partnership grew beyond a single event into an ongoing program and patch experience, giving Kiewit a meaningful way to engage its employees and build awareness of career opportunities among the next generation.

Leanna and her Schenkein team launched Preschool One Book, One Denver, partnering with the City and County of Denver and community organizations to put the same children's book into the hands of preschool families across the city. The initiative combined free books with readings, bilingual activities and community events designed to make reading together fun, visible and accessible.

The second-year selection, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, became the centerpiece of a two-week citywide tour that brought the shared-reading experience directly to children and families.

The concept grew into an annual Denver initiative and ultimately inspired One Book 4 Colorado, a statewide early-literacy effort based on the successful Preschool One Book, One Denver program, with the successor effort eventually distributing more than 70,000 books to four-year-olds across Colorado.

Leanna took charge of restoring food access, working with Food Bank of the Rockies to redesign how assistance could be delivered safely for the Auraria campus community. Beginning in March 2020, the response shifted to recurring mobile distributions every two weeks, using pre-packed food boxes, masks and carefully designed safety protocols that allowed students to receive assistance while minimizing contact during COVID.

The solution restored an essential resource despite the campus shutdown and helped re-establish food access for students across the shared Auraria higher-education community. It also became more than a temporary workaround. Mobile distributions continued through 2020 and into 2021; after the physical Lynx Food Pantry reopened, CU Denver continued offering the Food Bank of the Rockies mobile option.

Leanna worked with Children's Diabetes Foundation to turn the idea into Be a Diabetes Detective, a first-of-its-kind Girl Scout patch program combining health education with empathy and advocacy.

The experience was designed to make diabetes tangible, not simply teach girls about it. At the launch event, girls wore glucose monitors so they could see firsthand how food and physical activity affected their blood sugar. They learned how diabetes affects the body, heard from people living with Type 1 diabetes, and developed a better understanding of what friends managing the disease experience every day. The event also offered Type 1 diabetes screening for participating girls.

The partnership extended well beyond a single event. GSCO created on-demand programming for girls, troops and families, resources to help adult volunteers better support Girl Scouts with diabetes, and specialized training for camp staff to help the organization safely serve more girls with Type 1 diabetes away from home.

More than 150 girls participated in the initial launch at the Girl Scout DreamLab, after which the curriculum became available statewide through GSCO's on-demand programming. More than 3,000 Girl Scouts have since earned the patch, making Diabetes Detective one of GSCO's most successful patch programs ever.

The model has also been picked up by Girl Scout councils around the country, extending its reach well beyond Colorado. Most importantly, parents of girls with Type 1 diabetes have reported that their daughters feel more understood, accepted and embraced by their troops, while fellow Girl Scouts have a greater appreciation for what it means to live with and manage the disease.