Girl Scouts of Suffolk County Mark International Women's Day With Annual Breakfast Symposium

More than 300 members of Long Island's business and civic community filled Stonebridge Country Club in Smithtown on Friday, March 6, as Girl Scouts of Suffolk County hosted its annual Making an Impact Breakfast and Symposium in recognition of International Women's Day.

The 2026 edition carried the theme "Empowering Girls, Expanding Impact" and centered on a moderated panel of women leaders drawn from government, healthcare, energy, and the private sector. Adrienne Greene, vice president of retail banking at Nassau Financial Federal Credit Union, led the discussion.

The four panelists brought a cross-section of Suffolk County's institutional weight to the stage. Belinda Alvarez-Groneman, deputy commissioner of the Suffolk County Police Department, joined Carol A. Gomes, CEO and COO of Stony Brook University Hospital, along with Marie Martineck, senior director of commercial sales at CertaPro, and Michelle Zarifis, external affairs manager for National Grid.

Tammy Severino, president and CEO of Girl Scouts of Suffolk County, framed the event's purpose in direct terms. "Girl Scouts are always looking for ways to make their communities stronger and more supportive," Severino said. "Events like 'Making an Impact' show girls that their ideas, their energy, and their commitment to helping others can truly change lives."

The breakfast is part of a sustained organizational commitment to leadership development. Girl Scouts of Suffolk County describes its program as built around four pillars: STEM, outdoors, life skills, and entrepreneurship, each designed to build confidence regardless of a girl's background or ability. The Making an Impact series puts that mission in front of a live audience by pairing young members with accomplished women who have navigated the institutions shaping Long Island's public and economic life.

The 2025 breakfast, held March 7 of that year at the same Stonebridge Country Club venue, was billed as the 5th Annual Making an Impact Breakfast, suggesting the series has now run for at least six consecutive years. That earlier event featured panelists Linda Armyn, Dr. Sylvia Diaz, Gina Farese, and Michelle Martin, with Jennifer Friedman and Krupa Panchal-Lauricella serving as moderators and event committee co-chairs.

The 2026 symposium reinforces Girl Scouts of Suffolk County's position as one of the county's more visible civic conveners, an organization that uses International Women's Day not as a ceremonial occasion but as a platform to connect its members with the professionals already shaping the region.