Our Volunteer and Staff Leadership

How Northern Star Scouting Operates

Our council is led by volunteers and supported by staff. The top position is our council president, who leads our 60 member board of directors and is selected through a nominating committee process and elected to serve a two-year term. The president and board hire the Scout Executive, who guides and manages our council employees. Rounding out our top leadership team is the council commissioner, appointed by the board, who directs the volunteers that work directly with leaders of Scouting groups to help them succeed.

Meet our top council leadership team, known as our Council Key Three:

Kari Bjorhus

President

John Andrews

Scout Executive

David Cousins

Commissioner

To effectively administer Scouting, our council is divided into districts, primarily by geography, and the same council leadership pattern repeats. Each has a district chair, who leads the district committee, a district commissioner who directs the unit commissioners, supported by a district executive, the staff member serving the assigned territory.

Voting members of the council consist of: representatives of each of the community organizations who sponsor (charter) Scouting groups, volunteers serving as board members, council officers, members-at-large of the council, as well as President's Cabinet Members. The President's Cabinet includes the district chairs, operating committee chairs and youth representatives. Together they total more than one thousand individuals who annually elect and empower the officers, and the Scout Executive/CEO.

Council volunteers and staff fulfill various specialized functions including camp operations, training and advancement support, leadership/management of field staff as well as fundraising, budget and financial services.

Over 40,000 youth members are led and supported by more than 15,000 volunteers supported by 81 full time paid staff, plus 49 part-time and nearly 600 seasonal (camp staff) employees.