Take the Lead heads to Chicago to empower more women and femme of color to pursue careers in the running industry
Seattle, Wash. (March 8, 2022) – Take the Lead, a first-of-its-kind retreat, is returning in 2023 with the continued mission to provide women and femme of color (WFOC) who work in the running industry with career development programming, community building, and mentorship opportunities. After a successful launch in 2022, Alison Mariella Désir, in partnership with Kaitlin Rodriguez and Jessica Murphy, is excited to build on this momentum August 14-17, 2023 in Chicago, IL.
“The biggest success of our 2022 retreat was the brave space we created for folx, allowing them to show up as their full, authentic selves”, Desir explains. “Unfortunately, it’s rare that women and femme of color have that opportunity but I’m hopeful that our retreat will continue to lay the groundwork for that to feel safe and be possible.”
The 2022 retreat, held at the Brooks headquarters in Seattle, WA, hosted 64 attendees from across the United States and Canada. Attendees represented a variety of brands throughout the running industry including Brooks, Feetures, New Balance, ON Running, Strava, Salomon, and Oiselle. Participants had the opportunity to attend educational seminars, social runs and mentorship sessions.
Get Involved with the 2023 Retreat
Partners of the 2023 Take the Lead retreat have a unique opportunity to celebrate running industry innovators and pioneers that are women and femme of color. The retreat is also a moment for brands to create authentic relationships with WFOC in the running industry, invest in their long-term diverse talent pipeline and support Take the Lead’s mission to diversify the running industry as a whole.
Click here to learn more about partnership opportunities for the 2023 retreat.
For any media inquiries or additional questions, please contact Jessica Murphy at jessica@bibrave.com
About Take the Lead:
Take The Lead is the first-ever running-industry retreat centering the experience of women and femme of color with the mission to validate, support, and lead change they want to see in the running industry. Take The Lead was co-founded in 2022 by Alison Mariella Désir and Martha M. Garcia. Take the Lead is returning in 2023 with the continued mission to provide women and femme of color who work in the running industry with career development programming, community building, and mentorship opportunities that center our experiences and identities.
This retreat is put on for us and by us. We know that by coming together, connecting in a safe space, and centering our experiences, we can lead the change we want to see in the running industry. www.woctakethelead.com
