The Miami SOL is proud to honor two local women who are role models in the nation’s premier all-girl youth organization – the Girl Scouts – as the eleventh SHEROES of the season.

Maria D. Tejera, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Girl Scout Council of Tropical Florida, has been involved with the Girl Scouts for the past 27 years. In 1991, she was named as the nation’s first Hispanic Executive Director for the organization. During her tenure with the Girl Scouts, she has helped initiate several successful programs, including the Girl Scout After School Academic Daily Migrant Program serving young migrant girls and their brothers, as well as Girl Scout programs for children residing in HUD Family Housing Developments, which reach 800 girls. Maria also implemented the nation’s first Girl Scout Basketball League, which has received nationwide publicity and has helped spark young girls’ interest in sports therapy and sports medicine, among other future careers.

Leslie Roth, the Executive Director of the Girl Scouts of Broward County, joined the organization in 1999. Leslie oversees more than 9,000 girls and 4,500 adult volunteers in the community. Last year, her Girl Scouts gave Broward County over 12,000 hours of service and earned 4,300 patches by completing 350 different kinds of projects. Prior to joining the Girl Scouts, the former high school teacher devoted more than 20 years of her life to not-for-profit organizations, including working in executive positions for national and local non-profits, such as the American Lung Association.