Marketing Green

As the chief marketing and revenue officer for Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways, Wendy Cobrda ’87 knows well the importance of green.

“Those who live the life of Girl Scouts—living lives of purpose, being go-getters, innovators, risk-takers and leaders—are often called ‘Greenbloods,’” Wendy said.

In addition to being the logo color of the 108-year-old national girls’ leadership development organization, green figures prominently in the youth members’ uniforms, badges and materials.

But many people associate green with the most popular cookie flavor of the organization’s annual fundraiser—Thin Mints.

The round mint-flavored cookie coated in chocolate represents 25 percent of the 200 million boxes of Girl Scout cookies sold nationwide every year.

Wendy leads the team that manages marketing, public relations, product sales, retail sales, data and analytics for the 26 counties that make up the Girl Scouts of NYPENN Council.

“It’s a great role for me because I work on big picture strategy for our council as well as on national movement committees,” Wendy said. “My focus is on telling the ever-evolving Girl Scout story. Our mission is to fuel female ambition—to let girls know that not only can they dream, but they can realize their wildest hopes and dreams by learning new skills and sharing their insights and experiences with others.”

For Wendy, she found that sense of teamwork and comradery in the friends she made at SUNY Oswego.

“I stay in touch with a core group of friends whose lives have become intertwined with mine,” said Wendy, a communication major who was active with WOCR radio and campus media as a student. “We continue to support each other through life’s twists and turns and advise each other on career matters. The best part is that we all want to see each other succeed and go out of our way to help each other.”

She said that she is a “greenblood” in many aspects of her life—from her friendships with her Oswego Lakers to her former position at a market research consultancy called Earthsense, which discovered that many people “buy green not just to save the planet but to improve our health, save money and support businesses that are aligned with our core values.”

“I live close to Green Lakes State Park (in Fayetteville, N.Y.) and spend a lot of time walking our greyhound, Ozzie, enjoying the trees and the green-hued water,” Wendy said. “It’s one of my favorite places to grab a sleeve of Thin Mints and picnic.”

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