Local women elected to Girl Scouts board of directors

CICERO — Three local women were elected to the board of directors and one to the board development committee for the Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways, Inc. at its annual meeting on May 4.

Newly elected board members are Crystal Jordan from East Syracuse and Frances Pestello of Syracuse.

Jordan is currently an independent consultant specializing in health-care administration. She has served as a board member with Girl Scouts Dakota Horizons and with Community Health Center Association of the Dakotas. She attended Columbia University and received her undergraduate degree and post graduate degree in public health and attended Hofstra University for her law degree. Jordan has worked for community health centers in urban and rural settings. She has held various positions from grant writer to chief operations officer while at Comprehensive Community Development Corporation, Inc. and CEO and chief administrative officer at Community Health Center of the Black Hills, Inc. and SCHC Companies Inc.

Pestello is the presidential spouse at Le Moyne College. She is beginning her fifth year in that role and her second year as a tenured professor in the college’s Department of Anthropology, Criminology, and Sociology. Prior to joining the Le Moyne faculty, Pestello was a department chair and faculty member at the University of Dayton in Ohio. She devotes two-thirds of her time to her faculty role both teaching students and mentoring faculty, and one-third of her time to the work of the president’s office, including meeting with donors, attending community events, and events on campus.

Irene Scruton of Fayetteville has been re-elected to the board. She is an elected official serving on the town of DeWitt board and chairs the Technology Committee among other community affiliations and service groups. Scruton is currently president of the Safety Council of Upstate New York, a lifetime Girl Scout, and former banking executive. She received a “Woman of Distinction” honor in 2006 from the Girl Scouts of Central New York and most recently served on the Transition Nominating Subcommittee of the Council Realignment Committee. She is a former member of the executive committee of the Onondaga Community College Foundation and chaired the scholarship committee of the board. She is a graduate of SUNY Buffalo and holds an MBA from Syracuse University. Scruton is a graduate of the Leadership Greater Syracuse program and served on its board of directors. She is also a regional vice president for the New York State Association of Traffic Safety Board.

Fanny Villarreal of Syracuse has been elected to the board development committee. Villarreal was born and raised in Peru, where she earned bachelor’s and a master’s degrees in law studies. She worked as a judge in Peru until 1991, when she moved to Syracuse and immediately began working in the community. During her time in Syracuse, Villarreal became the executive director of the Spanish Action League of Onondaga County, Inc. where she helped grow the organization. She has been active on a number of community boards including the Syracuse Neighborhood Initiative, Onondaga Citizens League, Tomorrow’s Neighborhoods Today, and Elmcrest Children’s Center. Villarreal served as director of family and community development for P.E.A.C.E., Inc., where she had the opportunity to learn about the needs and assets of Syracuse and Onondaga County neighborhoods. She has received numerous awards including “40 under 40,” New York State Women of Distinction, and the Syracuse University Community award, among others.

Contact Carbonaro at mcarbonaro@cnybj.com