USARA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee

USARA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee formed as an ad hoc task force in August 2020 with the goal of broadening the scope of who participates in adventure racing and cultivating a community of support to those who have been, and still are, underrepresented in the sport. In 2021, it became a standing committee.

Meet the Committee:

Monette Bailey spends her weekdays supporting staff and faculty through leadership coaching and team development in the University System of Maryland. She spends a couple of weekend days a year roaming through woods and water doing her best impersonation of an adventure racer. She works with the USARA DEI Committee because it’s important to her that as many kinds of humans as possible get to have that kind of fun.

Kofi Borie did his first race eight years ago and fell in love with the sport.  He noticed, though, that there weren't very many people of color. After sharing his experience with friends and family, he discovered that none of them had ever heard of adventure racing, so he immediately formed a group (WDQ) dedicated to introducing the sport to the people of my community.  So, when USARA started the DEI committee, he saw it as a great opportunity.    

Karyn Dulaney learned about adventure racing in the late 1990s, but it took her over a decade to sign up for her first race. The logistics of the sport, such as needing a team to race with, lack of experience navigating and mountain biking, and requiring specific gear, intimidated her. Fortunately, one of her friends had the enthusiasm and confidence to say, “let’s just sign up for a race and we will figure it out.” Karyn feels lucky to have found friends who have figuratively and literally shown her the ropes over the years to evolve her participation in adventure racing. She knows not everyone has access to those resources and that being under-represented in a group can further contribute to feeling apprehensive about trying a race or becoming involved in the AR community. One of Karyn’s primary goals in working with the committee is to help reduce barriers to entry, to make the sport as accessible and welcoming as possible to anyone who wants to participate. She hopes the committee’s work can help expand who can call oneself “an adventure racer,” to contribute to the continued growth of a sport she’s passionate about.

Will Pfadenhauer is a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He has been adventure racing for about 5 years, and he’s been working with the USARA DEI committee since 2022. There are few things that offer a thrill comparable to adventure racing, and that's something that he wants everyone to have the chance to experience. He acknowledges that our sport - like many other outdoor activities - has many barriers to entry and may not always be an equally safe or comfortable environment for all of our participants. This is something he’s passionate about addressing, and he’s greatly enjoyed working with the other members of the committee to find solutions to these challenges.

Abby Perkiss began adventure racing in 2007. Early in her racing career, she benefited immensely from the generosity and good will of so many experienced racers and race directors. As the co-founder of Rootstock Racing, chair of USARA’s board, and a member of USARA’s DEI committee, she aims to put that energy back into the spot and pay that generosity forward to folks just finding their way to adventure racing and to ensure that everyone who wants to join our AR community feels welcome and supported.

Other committee members include Barbara Niess May, Dan Soliman, and recent additions Dana Borie and Allen Wagner.

 If you are interested in learning more about the DEI committee’s initiatives or getting involved, reach out to deirep@usara.com.