Sylvia Acevedo

Sylvia Acevedo is an American engineer and businesswoman. She was head of the Girl Scouts of the USA from 2016 to 2020.
She began her career as a systems engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where she was on the Voyager 2 team. She held leadership positions at a number of technology companies, such as Apple, Dell, IBM and Autodesk.
Early life and education.
Acevedo was born in South Dakota but her family later moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico, where she grew up. She joined the Girl Scouts when she was 7 years old.
In 1979, she received a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from New Mexico State University. In 1983, she was one of the first Hispanic students to earn a Master of Science graduate degree in systems engineering from Stanford University.
Career.
Acevedo worked as a rocket scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where one of her jobs was to analyze data from Voyager 2. Acevedo then moved to IBM, where she worked as a systems engineer.
In 2011, American President Barack Obama appointed Acevedo to the Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. She served in the position until January 2016.
Acevedo became a board member for the Girl Scouts in 2008. In 2016 she was elected interim (temporary) chief executive officer (CEO) of the group. The next year she was named permanent CEO.
Acevedo stepped down from her role in the Girl Scouts in 2020.
Significant publications.
2018: Clarion Books", Path To the Stars, My Journey from Girl Scouts to Rocket Scientist", an aspirational middle school memoir 
2016: Harcourt Mifflin Houghton, "Critical Growth Needs for English Learner Preschoolers"
2016: UCLA White paper: "Realizing the Economic Advantages of a Multilingual Workforce", (alongside Dr. Patricia Gandara)