EARTHMOVERS, with Alison Mariella Désir, Stefanie Flippin, Verna NezBegay Volker
EARTHMOVERS, with Alison Mariella Désir, Stefanie Flippin, Verna NezBegay Volker
Podcast Description
EARTHMOVERS, with Alison Mariella Désir, Stefanie Flippin, Verna NezBegay Volker is a trail podcast reclaiming the narrative by centering the experiences of people of color on the trails–with stories, insights, and wisdom for everyone. We are in this together.
Weekly conversations celebrate the growth, joy, and healing of getting in nature, and the challenging issues around exclusion and discrimination—as told by those who know from experience. Expect a vibe that is honest, casual, serious, fun, inspirational—and groundbreaking. With EARTHMOVERS, expand your understanding of the outdoor trail experience.
Hosts Désir, Flippin, and Volker are adventurers and runners, leading equity advocates and friends. Special guests are athletes, industry insiders, and community builders. They all share a passion for getting on the trails and know the life-changing power of experiencing the outdoors.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on outdoor experiences, racial equity, and community empowerment, highlighting topics like the challenges of exclusion in nature, inclusivity in trail running, and personal growth through outdoor activities. Episodes include personal stories from the hosts about their adventures, their involvement in promoting diversity in athletics, and interviews with guests like Miki Sawada on the power of music and nature.

EARTHMOVERS, with Alison Mariella Désir, Stefanie Flippin, Verna NezBegay Volker is a trail podcast reclaiming the narrative by centering the experiences of people of color on the trails–with stories, insights, and wisdom for everyone. We are in this together.
Weekly conversations celebrate the growth, joy, and healing of getting in nature, and the challenging issues around exclusion and discrimination—as told by those who know from experience. Expect a vibe that is honest, casual, serious, fun, inspirational—and groundbreaking. With EARTHMOVERS, expand your understanding of the outdoor trail experience.
Hosts Désir, Flippin, and Volker are adventurers and runners, leading equity advocates and friends. Special guests are athletes, industry insiders, and community builders. They all share a passion for getting on the trails and know the life-changing power of experiencing the outdoors.
The Runner’s Roundtable with Stephanie Diaz features female runners, run coaches, and entrepreneurs in the running space. The goal is to uplift their voices while being curious about how to make running more inclusive, accepting, and welcoming. Each season Stephanie focuses on a different theme: the theme of the episode featured here is “Conversations with Runners,” and the theme of her next season, Season 6, is “Beyond Pace” where female runners will discuss their favorite running memories.
The episode we’re featuring here is a conversation EARTHMOVERS cohost Alison Mariella Désir had with Stephanie back in 2024, where they talked about the running culture, Alison’s book Running While Black, why Alison’s so passionate about focusing on the intersection of racial equity work, movement, and mental health, and why it’s important to look beyond the marketing and media noise in the running world and choose what’s right for you.
From Runner’s Round Table: Welcome to the Runner’s Round Table podcast. Season is “Conversations with Runners”, and each episode features a conversation with an inspiring female runner who is making the running community better in her own way. In this episode, Stephanie talks to Alison Mariella Désir about the weaving of histories through her book Running While Black” and how she uses movement as a path towards disrupting the status quo in running to create a future where all are visible and feel like they belong. Enjoy this episode and thanks for listening.
About Stephanie: Stephanie is an RRCA (Road Runner’s Club of America) and McMillan Running certified running coach with over 10 years of running experience. Additionally, Stephanie is a yoga teacher with advancedcertifications in yoga for athletes, Yoga For All, and Empowered Wisdom Yoga Nidra. Stephanie believes that to be a runner is to believe in your possibility as a human through movement. Her favorite running distance is the half marathon (13.1 miles/21 kilometers).
About Alison Mariella Désir: Alison Mariella Désir is multi-talented: a founder, a doer, an activist, a connector, a visionary and an unapologetically straightforward communicator with a passion for movement, mental health, and racial equity. Alison got her start in the running and outdoor industry unintentionally, after seeing a black friend train and complete a marathon. inspired, alison went on to run her first marathon and discovered that she had found a powerful tool to manage her depression. she’s been working to share the transformational power of running and movement ever since.
Resources
Stephanie Diaz on Instagram: @thecookierunner
Stephanie Diaz Website: thecookierunner.net
This episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EfpzepXlrt8
Alison Mariella Désir on Instagram: @alisonmdesir
Alison Mariella Désir Website: alisonmdesir.com
To purchase “Running While Black”: alisonmdesir.com/book
EARTHMOVERS Instagram: @earthmoverspodcast
EARTHMOVERS YouTube: youtube.com/@EarthmoversPodcast

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