As director of membership and marketing for the Girl Scouts San Diego-Imperial Council Inc., Alisa Crothers, 30, has created several programs to help girls and women through seminars, workshops and programs.

After she graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Crothers took a job at a women’s shelter where, for four years, she helped women start their lives over. When she learned of an opening at the Girls Scouts in San Diego she went for it. “I was impressed with the organization, with their core values,” she says. “I think it’s one of the smartest moves I’ve made for myself.”

Crothers says although she works long days, her job doesn’t feel like work. “It’s a guilty pleasure to be able to enjoy work,” she says. “I’m committed to being proactive in my community. When I see girls accomplish something they think they can’t do, that’s powerful to me. It keeps me wanting to try to do more.”

Since she has been with the Girl Scouts, Crothers has served on the steering committee for the first-ever Healthy Girls Symposium and has collaborated with other nonprofit organizations including Becky’s House, St. Vincent de Paul and the Salvation Army to promote volunteer service among young people.

Crothers has volunteered to promote adequate education for migrant children, and works with Volunteer San Diego packing groceries for AIDS patients.

She was born in El Salvador and raised in Malibu, where both of her parents are marketing consultants.