No One Gets Left Behind’

by Estella Obi-Tabot via http://richmondmagazine.com

As the new national CEO of Black Girls Run, Jay Ell Alexander has made it her business to encourage a healthy lifestyle.

Alexander, who has been running in Richmond’s Monument Avenue 10K since 2010, was one of the founding members of the Richmond chapter of Black Girls Run in 2012. She recently assumed ownership of the national business from founders Toni Carey and Ashley Hicks-Rocha.

Black Girls Run includes more than 200,000 women in 73 running groups across 30 states using sisterhood to be the guiding light on their journey to better health.

Working as BGR’s national public relations director since 2012, Alexander has been able to bring attention to the organization from news outlets including CNN, Essence, Runner’s World and MSNBC.

“We have much more potential in terms of how we impact the African-American community, and it’s time to take it to the next level,” she says.

Black women remain at the highest risk for being overweight or obese in adulthood, according to the Office of Minority Health, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services.

“We hear testimonials all the time of women [who participate in Black Girls Run] getting off their blood pressure medication, losing weight, but that’s just …

Read More: No One Gets Left Behind’