CHANHASSEN, Minn./TAMPA, Fla. (Feb. 23, 2016) — IRONMAN and Life Time—The Healthy Way of Life Company, today announced the 2016 Women For Tri™ Board of Advisors with three new members – Joanna Graham, Rachel Joyce and Lindsay Meyers. The new advisors will join nine returning members of the Women For Tri Board of Advisors, who collectively represent an impressive wealth of professional and personal achievements.
“Our Women for Tri Board of Advisors were instrumental in growing female participation in our sport last year,” said Andrew Messick, Chief Executive Officer of IRONMAN. “The addition of Rachel, Joanna and Lindsay further strengthens our Board and positions Women For Tri to have even more impact in the future success of our sport.”
Long-recognized for their profound impact upon the sport of triathlon, IRONMAN and Life Time launched the Women For Tri initiative in 2015, with a vision to welcome and empower new female triathletes to be part of the sport’s continued exponential growth. In its first year, Women For Tri helped increase female participation in IRONMAN® and IRONMAN® 70.3® events globally by 18% to more than 62,000 female athletes. In addition, the initiative helped raise more than $100,000 to fund 24 grants and five scholarships to further promote female participation in the sport of triathlon.
“To see firsthand the impact female athletes are making in sports overall and specifically this group of female triathletes is profound,” said Kimo Seymour, President Life Time Athletic Events. “We are driving toward our mission to improve the health of our country and to help women achieve their aspirations and goals in this sport whether first-timers or seasoned athletes. What an exciting time.”
The board will continue to unite and empower female athletes of all ages and fitness levels by breaking down barriers to entry and helping more women accomplish their fitness goals in a sport that continues to thrive internationally. Both IRONMAN and Life Time consider the recent and continued growth of female participants in triathlon of vital importance to the sport and endurance industry.
“I have been following Women For Tri since its inception last year and have been really impressed at what the board has achieved in encouraging more women into triathlon – from fostering a growing community through its social media channels to carrying out its own fundraising to enable it to make substantial grants to tri clubs and individuals,” said Rachel Joyce, professional triathlete and Women For Tri Board Member. “Triathlon is a sport that has given me so much and joining the board gives me a practical means by which to give back. I want to see the number of women toeing the start line in triathlons grow. I am delighted to have joined this group of highly accomplished women and look forward to playing a part in growing women’s participation in this sport that I love.”
Newly appointed Women For Tri Board of Advisors:
JOANNA GRAHAM, Norfolk, VA
Director of Academics, Veritas Prep
Joanna has 15 years of experience in the standardized testing and test preparation space and now works on instructor recruitment and curriculum development. She has a natural talent for helping aspiring students get into college and graduate school. When she’s not engrossed in psychometrics, she can be found supporting veterans and military families through her work with Team Red, White and Blue and Dog Tag Bakery, as well as her alma mater Georgetown University. A proud military spouse and part-time race director, Joanna is also an avid endurance runner, completing various distances from marathons to 100 mile runs and recently added a full-distance triathlon (Beach 2 Battleship) to her resume.
RACHEL JOYCE, Boulder, CO
Professional Triathlete, Attorney
Rachel has raced triathlon professionally since 2008, having started the sport as an age grouper in 2005. She is a three-time IRONMAN champion and has finished runner-up at the IRONMAN World Championship twice. She has shared her experiences in triathlon through a monthly column in Triathlete Europe, is a contributor to the website, Witsup.com and is a Level 1 certified coach with the British Triathlon Federation. Prior to her triathlon career, Rachel worked as an attorney in London for eight years.
LINDSAY MEYERS, New York, NY
Managing Director, The Active Times
Lindsay, a former professional basketball player, has completed multiple IRONMAN 70.3 triathlons and is scheduled to race her first full-distance triathlon this year at IRONMAN Lake Placid. As a former Associate Professor at Columbia University and child therapist, Lindsay supervised graduate students and lectured on mental health topics including nutrition, exercise as therapy for children with special needs, and eating disorders in women. She has incorporated running and therapy for special needs children with New York Road Runners. She currently teaches Monday Motivation boot camp at The Active Times, is a social media specialist and creates content in the endurance sport, health/fitness, and adventure travel space.
Returning Women For Tri Board of Advisors:
MEREDITH ATWOOD, Roswell, GA
Attorney, Blogger, Author
CASEY CORTESE, Denver, CO
Founder & Chief Experience Advocate, The Sweet Spot Agency, LLC
LEESA EICHBERGER, Malibu, CA
Head of Brand Marketing for Farmers Insurance
MOIRA HORAN, Spring Lake Heights, NJ
Founder of Jersey Girls StayStrong Multisport Club; Co-Founder of Jersey Girl Triathlon
CRIS HOWARD, Reston, VA
Global Project Director, Covance
KATHERINE KELLY LANG, Hollywood, CA
Emmy-Award Winning Actress
JULIA BEESON POLLORENO, San Diego, CA
Editor in Chief, Triathlete Magazine
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Phoenix, AZ
U.S. Representative, Arizona – 9th Congressional District
DR. KAREN SMITH, Palo Alto, CA
Chief Medical Officer and Global Head R&D, Jazz Pharmaceuticals
For more information about the Women For Tri™ movement, visit www.ironman.com/womenfortri, join the closed Facebook group Women For Tri, follow on Instagram @whywetri or contact womenfortri@ironman.com.
