CEO

Kathrine Switzer - First woman to officially run the Boston Marathon

Kathrine Switzer - First woman to officially run the Boston Marathon

Happy Boston Marathon day! We are excited to share our interview with Kathrine Switzer, an iconic athlete, author, Emmy-award winning broadcaster and advocate for sports and social causes, Ms. Switzer was the first woman to officially register and run the Boston Marathon in 1967. She was attacked in the race by an angry official who tried to rip off her bib number (#261) and throw her out of the race because she was a woman. She finished the 26.2 mile distance anyway and went on win the 1974 New York City Marathon and to champion women in the sport globally, most notably leading the drive to make the women's marathon an official Olympic event in 1984. Now, 58% of all runners in the USA are women. To celebrate this social revolution,  and to support another on active aging, Switzer ran the Boston Marathon again, at age 70, on the 50th anniversary of her iconic run, finishing only 24 minutes slower than she did when she was 20.  This run launched her non-profit '261 Fearless' --named after that famous bib number--which empowers women globally though running. She has been honored widely for her achievements including being inducted into the USA National Women’s Hall of Fame which recognized her for creating positive social change throughout her storied career.

Gwen Young - CEO, Women Business Collaborative

Gwen Young - CEO, Women Business Collaborative

In today's episode, we are interviewing Gwen Young, the CEO of Women Business Collaborative (WBC).  Ms. Young is also a Visiting Scholar at the Elliot School of International Affairs at George Washington University.  She has had an amazing career, formerly serving as the Director of the Global Women's Leadership Initiative at the Wilson Center.  Prior to that she worked at some amazing international organizations including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Medecins Sans Frontieres, the International Rescue Committee, and the Harvard Institute for International Development.  She is our first CEO guest and we were very excited to learn about her work at WBC and about her career. Please take a few minutes to listen to this episode, her stories and her words of wisdom make this a can't miss episode!