Meet the Troop Responsible for Changing King County Law
Troop 41653, a group of incoming seventh graders from Issaquah Highlands, spent the last couple years working to enact change for employees in King County. The girl-led group recognized a problem, conducted research, met with public officials, shared passionate testimony, and helped to change a law.
In January 2023, King County Council passed an ordinance promoting gender equity in uniforms for government employees of every identity and expression. The ordinance went into effect in July 2023 and roughly 16,000 employees were impacted—from police officers to bus drivers.
The troop consists of Ahana Aneja, Aislinn DeMaio, Ania Awasthi, Ashley Kang, Ellie Fleischman, Fiona Moffat, Janie Michael, Rich Sharma, Xin Fang and Zoya Syed. Co-leaders Tiffany Smith-Fleischman and Carinne DeMaio (who replaced Makara Reed in 2021) lead the group, which initially formed as first graders at Grand Ridge Elementary.
“These 10 inquisitive and compassionate members of Troop 41653 identified a concern, thought through an approach, and engaged local representatives in dialogue—including King County Sheriff Patti Cole Tindall—resulting in enduring change and the earning of their Bronze Award,” said King County Councilmember Sarah Perry. “The Girl Scout in me is proud of their truly wonderful display of civic engagement and leadership!”
In the height of COVID-19, when the girls were in fourth grade, the troop’s leaders fully embraced Zoom to connect with one another. As part of earning their democracy badge, they invited and spoke with various elected officials such as Issaquah Mayor Mary Lou Pauly, Issaquah City Councilmember Lindsey Walsh, Washington State Rep. Lisa Callan and more.
While earning their detective badge, they met online with two female officers from Sammamish Police Department, which is contracted through King County Sheriff’s Department. During the meeting, the girls asked Detective Tracy Dodd and Sergeant Christine Elias what annoys them the most about being women in a largely male field.
Tiffany said the officers joked that they wish their uniforms would fit normally. However, the girls didn’t think this was funny. They thought it was unfair, sexist, and discriminatory for uniforms to not fit all people.
At this point, the Zoom chat was lighting up with concern from the girls. Xin even wrote, “WE KNOW PEOPLE IN GOVERNMENT.” With the democracy badge fresh on their minds, the troop of 9-10-year-olds felt empowered to do something about it.
The girls asked their leaders, “Can we work on this?” At the time, the troop leaders were unsure what exactly “this” would entail, Tiffany added.
In February 2022, the troop joined a Zoom call with Councilmember Perry and her Chief of Staff Libby Hollingshead. The girls presented their findings and made a case for female uniforms. Perry had no idea that uniforms were made only for men.
By April, the group was able to connect with Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall, who was also a Girl Scout. She told the girls about her plan to increase female representation in the department by 30% in 2030. At the time, about 9% of the workforce was women.
In their meeting with the sheriff, the troop learned about the challenges of budgeting and procurement. However, the girls were thoughtful and pushed back.
Once they mentioned that Perry expressed support on the issue from the legislative side, Cole-Tindall was open to finding a solution. She urged the girls to write a memo to King County Procurement and Payables (P&P).
Meanwhile, Perry’s office spent the summer and fall of 2022 meeting with agencies throughout the county to learn more about uniforms. In December, her office submitted ordinance 2022-0429, which would require equity in uniform sizing across all departments. It would also make uniform and clothing options available to pregnant women.
In January 2023, the troop attended the King County Council meeting to share their testimony in support of the ordinance (earning their public speaking badge in the process). The council unanimously voted in favor of the ordinance, which officially went into effect this July.
Nine members of Troop 41653 were awarded the Bronze Award, one of the highest awards in Girl Scouts, for identifying a problem in the community and working to find a solution.
“More than anything, they learned they can make a difference,” Tiffany noted. “If you give them some runway, they can do some really amazing things.”
