Mirna Valerio is a native of Brooklyn, NY, a former educator and cross-country coach, ultramarathoner, cyclist, skier, DEI practitioner, and author of the memoir, A Beautiful Work in Progress. She began running in high school, recommitted to the sport after a health scare in 2008 and started her blog Fatgirlrunning—about her experiences as a larger woman in a world of thinner endurance athletes— while training for her first marathon. Mirna's athletic story has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Runner’s World, on NBC Nightly News, CNN, and in the viral documentary short, REI Presents The Mirnavator. Her writing has been featured in Women’s Running, Self, Outside, and Runner's World. In 2018 she was chosen as a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, and  since then has appeared on the Kelly Clarkson Show, Access Daily, The Today Show, and Good Morning America. Her partners include LLBean, Ford Bronco, Darn Tough Vermont, lululemon athletica, Salsa Cycles, InsideTracker, Hydro Flask, and Garmin.  She currently lives and trains in Vermont with her son Rashid, and is wholeheartedly enamored and obsessed with downhill skiing. 

DEIB: Mirna has been a diversity professional for over 16 years. She will craft a workshop and/or talk around specific issues in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging as they pertain to education, and the outdoor/fitness industries. From introductory two-hour long experiences to multi-day, interactive workshops focusing on racial identity, socioeconomic status, and other cultural identifiers,  Mirna expertly facilitates difficult but necessary conversations that start brands and organizations on a trajectory to equity, inclusion, and belonging for their workplace communities, customers, and clients. 

Keynotes: Mirna is a highly sought after speaker for schools, outdoor brands and organizations, and in the corporate health and wellness spaces. 

As part of this talk, you’ll watch the short film The Mirnavator and engage in a discussion about diversity in the outdoors/fitness spaces.

In this workshop, Mirna will take you through her process for building a career that reflects core values, skills, talents, and deep passions.

In this talk/workshop based on Mirna’s memoir "A Beautiful Work in Progress" you will dig deep into the body-image messaging of your past and work individually and with others to reset your body narrative to reflect the power you have and always had within.