“I am ecstatic at the opportunity to join a world-class organization and delighted to work with a great team of unselfish volunteers and staff. More importantly, what a great adventure to be part of a mission that offers opportunities to develop young women who are tomorrow’s leaders and the foundation of our nation.”
Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas (GSSWT) named Major General Angela Salinas, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret) as chief executive officer effective July 1, 2015.
Salinas served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 39 years. At the time of her retirement on September 1, 2013, Salinas earned the distinction as the longest serving woman in the history of the Marine Corps, the senior ranking woman and the senior ranking Hispanic in the Corps.
A Girl Scout alumna, Salinas is a role model to girls and women seeking to break through the glass ceiling. She was the first woman to command the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego and the Western Recruiting Region, the first Hispanic female selected and promoted to the rank of brigadier general and major general, the first woman assigned as an assistant chief of staff for plans and policy of a major combatant organization and the first woman assigned as a ground major’s combat service support monitor. Her personal decorations include the Navy Distinguished Service Medal; the Defense Superior Service Medal; the Legion of Merit with gold star; the Meritorious Service Medal with two gold stars; the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal; the Army Commendation Medal and theNavy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with two gold stars.
Salinas’s accolades extend past her military experience. She was awarded the U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute’s Dr. Hank Lacayo Lifetime Achievement Award; the Hispanic Heritage of Texas Estrellas de Texas; Lifetime Achievement awards from Latina Style Magazine and North Star; the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Leadership Award; Women’s International Center’s Living Legacy Award; as well as being named one of 15 Phenomenal Women by Latina Magazine.
A 2014-2015 Masters Leadership Program graduate, Salinas serves on the board of directors for the Admiral Nimitz Foundation, Young Marines and The First Tee of Greater San Antonio. A native of Alice, Texas, she holds a Master of Arts from the Naval War College and a bachelor’s degree from the Dominican College of San Rafael California. She was awarded a Doctorate of Laws from Dominican University in 2015.
