Helping Our Girls Defeat Fear and Anxiety

Patti Garibay is the founder and executive director of American Heritage Girls, a national service organization dedicated to character development. In 1995, Patti was horrified by the evolving secular ideology of the Girl Scouts, and became inspired to create a Christ-centered alternative scouting program. Today, American Heritage Girls is in all 50 states with 52,000 members. Patti was a stay-at-home mom and raised her kids while also volunteering at her church, school and daughter’s Girl Scout troop. She is considered a thought leader on "all things girl," and has appeared on radio and TV to promote American Heritage Girls and its values. Garibay was named a member of the American Family Association's "40 Faithful" in 2017, and was selected as a Woman of Excellence in 2005 and a Woman of Influence in 2017. Patti and her husband, Pat, have four married children and nine grandchildren. They reside in Cincinnati, Ohio. Patti and her siblings were raised by a disabled father who lived with Multiple Sclerosis for 40 years. His encouraging attitude of "Why curse the darkness when you can light a candle?" played a role in the founding of American Heritage Girls, and also her book, Why Curse the Darkness When You Can Light A Candle?