Vanessa Garrison

Biography

Vanessa Garrison is the co-founder of GirlTrek, the largest public health nonprofit for African-American women and girls in the United States. With more than 175,000 neighborhood walkers, GirlTrek encourages women to use walking as a practical first step to inspire healthy living, families, and communities. As women organize walking teams, they mobilize community members to support monthly advocacy efforts and lead a civil rights-inspired health movement. Beyond walking, GirlTrek’s active members support local and national policy to increase physical activity through walking, improve access to safe places to walk, protect and reclaim green spaces, and improve the walkability and built environments of 50 high-need communities across the United States.

Prior to co-founding GirlTrek, Garrison worked within the criminal justice space, helping formerly incarcerated women access critical services. She began her career working in digital media with Turner Broadcasting System. Inc. in Atlanta, where she managed digital media projects for some the world’s most recognizable news and entertainment brands, including, CNN, TNT and Sports Illustrated.

As the co-founder of GirlTrek, Garrison is a social innovation fellow with Teach for America (2012), Echoing Green (2013), and The Aspen Institute (2015). She has been featured by CNN, NPR The Washington Post, The New York Times and named “Health Hero” by Essence Magazine. In 2017 she appeared on the cover of Outside Magazine’s “Icons” edition. Garrison’s TED Talk, “The Trauma of Systematic Racism is Killing Black Women. A First Step Towards Change”, has been viewed more than a million times. In 2018 she was appointed to the national board of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. A native of Seattle, WA, Vanessa earned a B.A. in World Arts and Culture from the University of California, Los Angeles.