Girls Inc. Board of Directors Appoints Judy Vredenburgh as President and CEO

Bridgette Heller, Chair of the Board of Directors of Girls Inc., announced that the organization has appointed Judy Vredenburgh as President and CEO to replace Joyce M. Roché, who is retiring at the end of May after nearly ten years of dedicated service. Ms. Vredenburgh will begin in her new role on June 1.

Ms. Vredenburgh served as President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America from 1999 to 2009. During that time, she led the organization in unprecedented expansion of services and revenue growth: the number of children the organization served more than doubled, from 118,000 to 255,000, and its revenue increased from $171 million to $290 million (this includes National and affiliate revenue). Prior to BBBS, Ms. Vredenburgh was Senior VP Strategic Marketing and Revenue Development for the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation. Prior to joining the nonprofit sector, she spent over 20 years in the retail industry. She holds an M.B.A. from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

"I am honored to have this opportunity to take over from Joyce, whom I so deeply respect and admire," said Ms. Vredenburgh, "and to lead an organization for whose work I have such a profound passion. Throughout my career, I have mentored girls and young women as part of my personal commitment to empowering the next generation of women leaders. It is wonderful now to have the chance to devote myself full time to the mission of inspiring girls to be strong, smart, and bold."