Above: Dr. Lisa Spiller (second from right) with representatives of Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast
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Marketing professor Dr. Lisa Spiller is an acclaimed teacher and accomplished scholar. She says she was inspired as a child by her entrepreneurial father and by cookies. Girl Scout Cookies.
“I attribute much of my interest in marketing to my Girl Scout days,” Spiller told the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast. “Selling Girl Scout cookies was probably the spark that ignited my interest!” Spiller was one of seven local former Girl Scouts – all considered leaders in their field and role models for girls today – to be honored at the Girl Scout Famous Formers Luncheon.
According to the Girl Scouts, 64 percent of the nation’s female leaders in government, business and nonprofit positions were once scouts.
“While selling cookies is certainly what most people think about when they hear Girl Scouts, the organization is so much more,” Spiller said. “So many women leaders have come out of the Girl Scout ranks and have used Girl Scouts as a leadership foundation.”
Spiller is a distinguished professor in the Joseph W. Luter III School of Business. She joined the faculty in 1991 and is an expert on direct and interactive marketing. In addition to winning awards for her teaching and service on campus, she is the author of the influential textbook Direct, Digital and Data-Driven Marketing.
In addition to Spiller, the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast honored as Famous Formers: Kate Godby, senior engagement manager for Hewlett Packard Enterprises; Janice "Jay" Johnson, community activist for Virginia Organizing; Joann Bautti, director of student affairs for Eastern Virginia Medical School; Tricia Hudson, president and owner of Strategic Solutions by Tricia; and Bonita Billingsley Harris, media and communications relations manager for Dominion Energy.