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The inaugural State of the Georgia Girl Report is live!
THE FULL REPORT
View the 2026 State of the Georgia Girl Report below.
This report utilizes data from primary sources such as the U.S. Census, Centers for Disease Control, and the Georgia Department of Education.
REVIEW PANEL
Our Esteemed Review Panel
The State of the Georgia Girl Report was deeply enriched by the dedicated time and attention of a diverse community of experts across the state. Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta and Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia extend sincere appreciation to this review panel for its thoughtful and thorough feedback, which elevated the level of discourse presented in this report.
REPORT AUTHOR
Jenn Hollern
Owner, FORGE 4082 Consulting
Jenn Hollern is the author of the 2026 State of the Georgia Girl Report and the owner of FORGE 4082 Consulting. She has worked professionally in Girl Scouting for more than a decade and is based in Orlando, Florida.
Rachel Alterman Wallack, MSW
Youth Voice Matters
David L. Barnett, Ph.D.
Brenau University
Jasmine Barton
America’s Promise Alliance
Judy Fitzgerald
Voices for Georgia’s Children
Alex Camardelle-Floyd, Ph.D.
Kindred Futures & Georgia State University
Marsha R. Hopkins, Ph.D.
Hopkins Associates
Dr. Paul Kirchgraber, MD, MBA
Former CEO, Labcorp Drug Development
Amanda Lawrence, MBA
HCA Healthcare, South Atlantic Division
Tanzy Kilcrease, Ed.D.
Educator, Administrator, Girl Scout Volunteer, Chair of the Regional Advisory Board
Georgia Girls Need You.
Take Action and Celebrate the Power of Girls Everywhere
Every year on October 11, the global community comes together to celebrate International Day of the Girl.
It’s the day when you can recognize the power of girls everywhere—and highlight, discuss, and take action to advance the rights of, and opportunities for, girls across the globe.
Every girl has the power to realize her potential. But it’s important to amplify girls’ voices and advocate for their inclusion in changemaking spaces. By supporting and investing in girls, you can make the world a better place.
Celebrate International Day of the Girl to not only to support a platform where girls can speak out, but also to share girls’ achievements, triumphs, and contributions as we build towards a brighter and more equitable future for girls everywhere.
Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia (GSHG) and Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta are preparing to release the inaugural State of the Georgia Girl Report, the first study of its kind to bring together statewide data on the health, safety, education and wellbeing of girls across Georgia. The two councils commissioned the report as part of their shared mission to help every girl in Georgia thrive, starting with a clear picture of the challenges she faces today.
The report finds that Georgia girls are living what its authors call “a life, divided”: the most academically ambitious, college-bound generation of girls on record, and also the loneliest. Ninety percent of Georgia girls graduated high school in 2025, five points higher than boys and up roughly seven points over the past decade. Yet two in three Georgia high school girls say they lack a caring adult to talk to about their feelings, and more than half report symptoms of depression in a given month.
"The State of the Georgia Girl Report gives us an opportunity to listen to girls through the data and act on what they are telling us. These findings aren’t just about Girl Scouts, they’re about Georgia’s future. The real measure of this report won’t be how many people read it, it will be what Georgia chooses to do about what it tells us. Educators, business leaders, policymakers and community organizations all have a role to play in ensuring every girl in Georgia has the opportunity to thrive," shares Krystal Crawford, CEO Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia.
Thank you for joining us at our State of the Georgia Girl Report Release and Panel Discussion!
Meet Our Panelists
The discussion will be facilitated by Tara Nobles and will feature panelists representing perspectives connected to girls’ health, education, development and well-being.
David Barnett, PhD
David L. Barnett PhD was named as the 11th President of Brenau University in 2024. A native of Georgia, he earned three graduate degrees from the University of Louisville and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a bachelor’s degree from Mercer University. Barnett received many academic awards and honors highlighted by the Graduate Dean’s Citation at the University of Louisville and the Outstanding Student in Christian Education at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a member of the academic honor society Phi Kappa Phi.
Dr. Barnett has served in executive leadership roles at six universities in Georgia and Kentucky. Prior to his work in higher education, he worked in commercial construction for a decade after attending college before enrolling in graduate school.
Dr. Barnett is active in the local community through his service on several non-profit boards and community groups. He is currently on six boards including serving as Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and a board member for the Lake Lanier Olympic Foundation, Quinlan Art Center, Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education, Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce, and Georgia Independent Colleges Association. He is an active member of the Gainesville Rotary Club and Gainesville First United Methodist Church.
Dr. Barnett teaches doctoral education courses at Brenau, delivers presentations at numerous national and regional professional conferences, and teaches on a variety of theological topics at local churches. He is married to his wife Kimberly, has two children and a grandson. He is an avid sports fan and enjoys various outdoor activities.
Shelly Fickau
Shelly Fickau is an award-winning higher education and youth development leader with more than three decades of experience helping young people thrive. Today, through her leadership with the YMCA of Coastal Georgia, she is deeply engaged in strengthening communities through youth development, literacy, healthy living, partnerships, and programs that create greater connection and opportunity for children and families.
Prior to joining the YMCA, Fickau built a 34-year career in higher education across five colleges and universities, including serving as Director of Residential Life at Johns Hopkins University and Dean of Students at South University. Her work has centered on student wellbeing, behavior, safety, belonging, identity development, and the increasingly complex social and digital environments young people navigate.
Her leadership has earned recognition for service, diversity and inclusion, student affairs, and community impact. Most recently, the West Chatham YMCA was recognized as a Best Place to Volunteer in the Pooler community.
Marsha R. Hopkins, PhD
Marsha is a native and lifelong resident of Gainesville, GA. She is a Life Member of Girl Scouts, having become a Brownie in second grade. She is a proud member of Gainesville’s Adult Girl Scout Troop 2012 and of the GSHG Regional Advisory Board. In 2010, she was honored to be named as Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia's Gainesville Woman of Distinction.
She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Georgia. Her doctoral research focused on exploring the creative process across disciplines. She and her husband, Benjie are the parents of four adult sons, and they have three grandsons. Their family company, Hopkins Associates contracts to coordinate services offering job training and placement in thirteen counties in northeast Georgia.
Marsha is currently an active member of Hall County Master Gardeners, Georgia Art League, Northeast Georgia Writers, and Gainesville First United Methodist Church. She serves on advisory boards for Salvation Army, Brenau University, Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce. Northeast Georgia History Center, and United Way of Hall County. She is Immediate Past President of the Rotary Club of Gainesville.
Amanda Lawrence, MBA
Amanda Lawrence is a results-driven social impact executive, and systems change agent with over two decades of experience empowering communities and driving collaborative outcomes across the healthcare, education, and economic mobility sectors. She currently serves as the Associate VP of Community Engagement at HCA Healthcare for the South Atlantic Division, where she leads the strategic direction, foundation investments, and community outreach for 11 hospitals and more than 185 points of care. HCA is a national partner with GSUSA in the effort to promote and support mental wellness for girls in grades K-12.
Throughout her career, Lawrence has built an impressive track record in collective impact, multi-million-dollar business development, and nonprofit leadership. Her previous roles include Senior Director of Innovation at StriveTogether and Vice President of Community Impact at Trident United Way, where she transformed grantmaking into a multi-million-dollar strategic investment portfolio and mobilized cross-sector partners to address critical community challenges.
An alumnus of the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing, Lawrence also holds an MBA from The Citadel. Deeply committed to civic leadership, she serves on the Sisters of Charity of SC board.
Dr. Tilicia Mayo-Gamble
Dr. Tilicia Mayo-Gamble is the Associate Dean for Practice and Research and an Associate Professor in the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health at Georgia Southern University. She is a health services and healthcare disparities researcher with a research agenda focused on implementing community and patient engagement methods to facilitate self-care behaviors and enhance patient-centered care among adults with chronic diseases and marginalized populations.
For nearly two decades, she has advocated for and conducted research alongside sickle cell disease and trait stakeholders (e.g., patients, caregivers, advocates, clinicians, and payors. This includes working alongside stakeholders to integrate community-based strategies into clinical settings. She has been the co-lead and lead investigator in Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute’s Engagement Awards to engage stakeholders to establish stakeholder networks, prioritize patient-centered outcomes, and develop research dissemination strategies.
Additionally, Dr. Mayo-Gamble has worked with colleagues to develop frameworks to equitably engage stakeholders in all phases of the research continuum and ensure effective methods can be scaled to other rare chronic conditions.
Dr. Mayo-Gamble is currently working with Dept. Public Health to determine the impact of social media use on youth. Georgia Department of Public Health partners with Georgia Southern researchers for study on adolescent social media use - Grice Connect
