Deerfield Beach, Fla. (June 3, 2026) – Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida recognized 22 outstanding young women from Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Okeechobee and Indian River counties with the prestigious 2026 Girl Scouts Gold Award, the highest achievement in Girl Scouting. The annual Gold Award Ceremony was recently held at the Doubletree by Hilton Deerfield Beach.
During the ceremony, each Girl Scout was presented with a Gold Award pin by a special adult who supported her through her project and Girl Scout career. In return, the girl presented this adult with the Companion Gold Award pin.
Awarded to only 5% of eligible Girl Scouts nationwide, the Gold Award recognizes girls in grades 9 through 12 who demonstrate exceptional leadership, dedication and commitment to creating meaningful, sustainable change in their communities. Twelve of this year’s recipients are graduating high school seniors, six completed their projects last summer and returned to participate in the event following their first year in college, and four are current high school underclassmen
To earn the Gold Award, each Girl Scout must identify a community issue she is passionate about and lead a large-scale service project designed to create lasting impact. The Gold Award Class of 2026 took on issues including literacy; mental health; breast cancer, concussion, autism and endometriosis awareness; food insecurity and waste; foster care; and environmental sustainability. Their collective projects contributed more than 2,500 community service hours and partnered with dozens of local organizations to impact thousands of lives close to home and as far away as Tanzania in Africa.
Gold Award projects require advanced communication, leadership and project management skills, often involving collaboration with nonprofits, schools, local governments and community organizations. The experience is designed to inspire a lifetime of civic engagement and leadership.
Often described as “what you want to be remembered for,” the Gold Award leaves a lasting legacy of activism, compassion and service long after a Girl Scout’s journey ends.
“I am impressed by the determination and creativity the Gold Award Class of 2026 demonstrated through their projects. Their community collaborations are remarkable, showing everyone the power of partnerships,” said Lisa Johnson, CEO of Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida. “Earning a Gold Award marks an important milestone in a Girl Scout’s career. The vision, commitment and leadership will continue to carry these extraordinary young women to new heights. This will forever distinguish them on scholarship applications, college admission essays and resumes.”
The 2026 Gold Awards ceremony sponsors included HCA Florida Healthcare, Amazon, Florida Power & Light and Publix Super Markets Charities and table sponsor Tula Hudson-Miller. To learn more about the Gold Award, scholarship opportunities or how to support Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida, please visit gssef.org.
The 2026 Gold Award Girl Scouts with ties to Wellington and Loxahatchee are:
Taylor Browning, a Wellington resident and junior at Wellington Community High School, completed her project titled Pediatric Medical Daycare – More Than Just Physical Therapies. Most people haven’t heard of a Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care (PPEC) facility. These are all-day, non-residential, medical daycare centers offering skilled nursing care for children with complex medical conditions. Beyond the medical therapies, these young patients need mental, emotional and developmental stimulation which can be achieved by interactions with individuals with time to share. Taylor wanted to tell people about these children and work to fill the gaps in their daily lives with recreational activities built to accommodate their conditions and constraints. Taylor was drawn to working with this special group and passionate about connecting others to make their lives more interesting, hopeful and joyful. She partnered with Parents Choice Medical Daycare in Boynton Beach to create a four-month series of weekly activities, with developmental benefits to youth patients, that did not interfere with medical treatments. Weekly sessions included using live musical instruments and singalongs with simple participation movements; interactive games using letters, numbers and colors; and reading books aloud. Taylor consulted with licensed therapists to evaluate the project’s results with surveys for clinicians and parents. Feedback demonstrated a 90 to 100% satisfaction rate recognizing the “overall benefit” of the program to children in the medical daycare, as well as overwhelming support for the idea of community members volunteering time to benefit patients. Informal and formal feedback from parents agreed that the non-physical activities enriched their child’s overall care.
Addison White, a Greenacres resident and senior at Wellington Community High School, completed her project, taBOOB, which addresses lack of awareness about and early detection of breast cancer in youth. She wanted to start more open conversations about overall breast health and educate more young women about creating lifesaving habits to carry to their adult lives. A little-known fact is that breast cancer is the most common cancer among female adolescents and young adults ages 15 to 39 years, and breast cancer in adolescents and young adults is often more aggressive and more difficult to treat than in older women. Early detection is critical and it all begins with open dialogue with girls at younger ages so the chance for survival is exponentially increased. Addison’s campaign was delivered through a series of informative interviews, such as one with breast surgeon Dr. Andrew Shapiro at Advanced Surgical Physicians, and online resources, including how to perform a self-breast exam, explanations of benign breast conditions, and a breast cancer risk calculator. With a targeted marketing plan, her messages and materials have reached 1,374 people on Instagram, 1,945 people on Facebook, 219 video views and 312 unique visitors to her website. The survey results showed knowledge gains on understanding misconceptions regarding breast health, building healthy habits to promote overall breast health, how to perform a self-breast exam, the role healthcare providers play in young girls’ breast health, the need for openness and conversations within family, and confidence to self-advocate when it comes to personal health. Addison’s powerful interviews may be watched here. Addison was surprised during the ceremony with the $1,500 Barbara Ann Turner “Service from the Heart” Scholarship, as well as an honorable mention scholarship from MotivEight in the amount of $500. She recently graduated from high school and completed her associate’s degree from Palm Beach State College and will continue her education at University of South Florida on a three-year track to become a nurse.
Isabella Lombardo, a Loxahatchee resident and senior at Park Vista Community High School in Greenacres, found that endometriosis is a commonly misunderstood disease that is often misdiagnosed. This led her to her project, Endometriosis Awareness. Many women think that severe menstrual cycle pain is normal, but after much research and doctor’s appointments, they may learn that this painful condition occurs when tissue that is similar to the inner lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. It often affects the ovaries, fallopian tubes and the tissue lining the pelvis. It seemed like no one wanted to discuss this disease. However, Isabella knew it was important and wanted to create a comprehensive educational campaign to tell more girls about this condition and ultimately raise their awareness to get involved and begin to know their own bodies. Through collaboration with Jupiter Medical Center and the Health Care District of Palm Beach County, Isabella created informational posters for her school’s female restrooms and hosted online information sessions to teach girls about the symptoms and long-term effects of endometriosis. Her message was spread to an international audience of girls in Tanzania in East Africa through a collaboration with Quality Healthcare Solutions and Consulting in West Palm Beach. For this group, she also organized a collection of reusable menstrual pads for girls in Tanzania that are eco-friendly, cost-effective and sustainable alternatives to disposable items. Isabella will attend Florida Gulf Coast University in the fall, where she will study marine biology.
Mia Lesko, a Lake Worth resident and senior at Seminole Ridge Community High School in Loxahatchee, grew concerned about the surprisingly low literacy rates, which measure the ability to read, comprehend and write, among high school students. She addressed that concern with her project Between the Lines. Often when students in high school fall behind on these skills, they are embarrassed and do not ask for help. Soon, the curriculum grows out of reach and test-taking becomes agonizing. Research shows one in six current high school students (about 1.2 million teens) drop out of high school annually, primarily due to issues with illiteracy. Many more struggle with basic reading and writing, which hinders self-sufficiency in adulthood and stunts employment opportunities. The national dropout rate for students with learning disabilities was 24% compared with 5.3% of all students. Mia saw that the importance of a high school student’s literacy proficiency could not be overstated, yet finding the students who would accept help would be challenging. She started with support from a school administrator to identify students reading below their grade level and recruited a team of 15 students from the English and Journalism Honor Societies at her school. Mia created a website which revealed and discussed literacy challenges and offered information needed to create change and provide assistance including her group meetings. In addition to straight talk about literacy skills that are so important to master for adult life, she added available resources to help students improve them privately. On the site, Mia built a survey form to gather feedback from those who used the website to find out if it helped them personally and provided a place for concerns or questions. Respondents have reported an increased positive attitude towards reading/writing creatively and educationally, plus an increased knowledge about the importance of literacy and comprehension skills. Mia will attend University of South Florida in the fall.
About Girl Scouts
We are the preeminent leadership development organization for girls who believe that every girl can be a go-getter, innovator, risk-taker, and leader with the power to change the world. More than any other organization in our community, Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida empowers girls ages 5 to 17 with vision and voice—girls who command their future, engage their communities, and inspire others. We offer every girl a chance to practice a lifetime of leadership, adventure, and success. Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida serves more than 6,900 girls in Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, and Okeechobee Counties. To explore opportunities to volunteer or partner with Girl Scouts, call 561-427-0177 or visit www.gssef.org.
