Carol M. Dedrich, MBA, CFRE
Chief Executive Officer
Carol Dedrich attributes the lessons she learned as a young Girl Scout with preparing her for leadership roles in school, the military and throughout her career.
Carol joined Girl Scouts San Diego in October 2016. As CEO, her priorities include serving a geographically and economically diverse girl and volunteer base, leveraging community partnerships to better reach underserved communities, enriching the volunteer experience, enhancing the middle and high school Girl Scout experience, and building lasting relationships with donors, in order to serve more girls and continue to provide relevant, critical programs.
She is committed to helping girls develop their courage, confidence, and character in order to overcome their insecurities and fears that can plague girls throughout their lives. She is also dedicated to building collaborations and helping women to support each other with less judgement of self and others.
Carol has over 20 years of experience at the executive level in all three economic sectors: government/military, corporate and nonprofit. She began her career out of college as a Distinguished Military Graduate with a Regular Army (RA) commission and served as an Air Defense Artillery Patriot Missile Officer in the U.S. Army. She is airborne qualified and a veteran of Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Carol achieved the rank of Captain and upon transitioning to civilian life began serving in a different capacity, one focused on community building.
She began her new career as director at United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, creating awareness about the importance of community problem solving while increasing support from $600K to $2.1M with philanthropists and community leaders. Carol later became vice president at the Fulfillment Fund, an inner city nonprofit that helps provide access to higher education for students who are economically disadvantaged. She led efforts to grow revenue, expand resources and leverage community partnerships in order to enhance services and increase high school graduation rates.
Carol then spent seven years as chief external relations officer for Girl Scouts Greater Los Angeles (GSGLA). She helped merge seven councils to form GSGLA by building infrastructure; strengthening marketing, communications and staff development; broadening membership while enhancing the volunteer experience and developing a culture of philanthropy.
She has been a Big Sis for Big Brothers Big Sisters, a mentor for STEP UP, and on the Advisory Board for City Scholars Foundation: a nonprofit that supports, mentors, and educates CEO’s of small nonprofits. She has a Bachelor of Art from Michigan State University and a MBA from the University of Arizona, holds the credential Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) is a graduate of LEAD San Diego—Influence, selected Los Angeles Business Journal’s Women Making a Difference, and held the record for most sit-ups at two Army posts.
Carol grew up outside of Detroit, MI and since then has lived in six states, as well as, Germany and Turkey. She married later in life to Alex, her beloved husband. Their interests include traveling, scuba diving, entertaining, and wine. Together they have completely renovated three homes within six years learning various new skills like tiling, plumbing, drywall, and landscaping. Both share a love of aviation, and Carol is currently working on her private pilot’s license.
