Jai Ferrell Runs a $25M Empire and You Think It's Just Cookies

Jai Ferrell Runs a $25M Empire and You Think It's Just Cookies

From Butternomics the Business of Culture by iHeartPodcasts

April 14, 2026 · 49 min

About this episode

Jai Ferrell discusses her role as the first Black woman CEO of the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta and the challenges of managing a large organization.

Jai Ferrell is the first Black woman CEO of the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta in over 100 years. She walked into a $25 million business with 125 employees, three properties, horses, and 2,000 acres of land. Before this, she was managing billion-dollar portfolios at the busiest airport in the world. In this conversation, she breaks down the real enterprise behind the cookie, why women and girls receive less than 2% of all philanthropic giving, and what it actually looks like to make hard calls at scale. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Guest: Jai Ferrell

Topics covered

  • leadership
  • philanthropy
  • women in business
  • entrepreneurship
  • cookies
  • nonprofit management

Keywords

  • Jai Ferrell
  • Girl Scouts
  • philanthropy
  • business leadership
  • cookies
  • nonprofit
  • women empowerment

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta

Places: Atlanta, the busiest airport in the world

More episodes of Butternomics the Business of Culture

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Butternomics the Business of Culture podcast page.