Linda Foreman has worn many hats in her life, but the one she’s worn the longest is green and comes with a lifetime of Girl Scout grit.
As the current president of the World Foundation for Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, and a veteran of countless retreats at the Edith Macy Center, Linda knows a thing or two about what it takes to build bold women leaders.
Spoiler alert: It starts with the right setting.
We recently had the chance to chat with Linda about her experiences with Edith Macy Center and why it serves as the ideal location for hosting a women’s retreat.
Here’s what she had to say.
Where to Host a Women’s Leadership Retreat
When History Holds the Door Open for You
Edith Macy Center isn’t just a scenic venue in the woods—it’s a living testament to a century of Girl Scout history, a legacy that has been instrumental in sparking the women’s empowerment movement in the U.S.
“This place is grounded in more than a hundred years of Girl Scout history,” Linda explains, “and rooted in the progressive movement, which really helped women’s empowerment kind of take off in this country.”
The power of that legacy isn’t just symbolic. It’s structural. The walls, the woods, and the very air seem engineered to inspire bold thinking and collective action. Think of it less like a venue and more like a collaborator.
Out of the Office, Into the Woods
We’ve all been to corporate retreats where the setting feels like a repurposed conference room with better snacks. Edith Macy is the antithesis of that.
“You’re not in the city with all the noise,” says Linda. “You are out here where wild turkeys and deer will interrupt your walking if you’re taking a hike.”
In a world that prizes hustle culture and hyper-connectivity, the act of stepping into a quieter, more natural space is revolutionary. At Edith Macy, nature isn’t a backdrop—it’s part of the curriculum. The hills, the lake, the fire pit—it all invites women to stop performing and start transforming.
And here’s the kicker: the environment doesn’t just soothe; it sparks.
Linda puts it plainly: “That environment leads people to both calm their mind and then release it to whatever task they came here to do.”
Campfires, Conversations, and a Commons That Actually Connects
A leadership retreat is only as strong as the connections it builds. That’s where Edith Macy earns its badge in design thinking. It’s set up for spontaneous conversations and deep reflections.
Whether you’re huddled around a fireplace, wandering the trails with a partner, or standing shoulder to shoulder at a fire pit under the stars, the venue encourages what Linda calls “all manner of ways to be together.”
It’s not just about being outdoors—it’s about being fully present. In a space where phones lose signal but ideas don’t, women find the room they need to speak up, listen in, and lead out.
When Strategy Needs Space
Not all leadership breakthroughs happen on whiteboards. Sometimes, the most transformative decisions start with a walk in the woods.
Linda recalls one of the most powerful gatherings of her career nearly two decades ago, when a national Girl Scout strategy was shaped on those very grounds.
“We brought together people from all over the country… taking walks in the woods, clearing our heads… it all brought us to a place where we could truly move this Girl Scout movement forward.”
That event didn’t just make decisions—it made momentum. And it’s a blueprint for what’s possible when you bring committed women into a space designed to unlock their best thinking.
Linda calls it “Macy Magic.” The kind that doesn’t rely on PowerPoint decks but on a powerfully human connection.
The Real ROI of Retreats
Here’s the truth: the best leadership retreats don’t just download frameworks or preach productivity. They shift perspectives. They permit women to pause, and in that pause, something fierce starts to flicker.
Edith Macy Center isn’t just a location. It’s a leadership accelerator dressed in forest green. It has hosted decades of strategy, sparked lifelong friendships, and empowered women to rise not despite the quiet, but because of it.
So, the next time someone says, “let’s take this offline,” consider taking it all the way to the woods.
Reset your pace. Recharge your vision. Rise with clarity, just like the Girl Scouts have been doing for over a century.