Molly Barker

Molly Barker is an American educator, social entrepreneur, and visionary. She holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is best known as the founder of Girls on the Run International. She founded the running-lifeskills-development program in 1996 with 13 girls in Charlotte, NC. A four-time Hawaii Ironman triathlete and elite cyclist (Olympic Trials qualifier in 1996). Barker used her background in social work, counseling, and teaching to develop the curriculum. Since then, the program has inspired over 2.25 million girls to know and activate their limitless potential.

In 2013, Barker retired from the day-to-day operations of Girls on the Run, to spend some time on Capitol Hill, serving on the commission for Political Reform, a group tasked by the Bipartisan Policy Committee, to address the highly polarized state of our nation. While there, Barker developed the Red Boot Way, a strategic form of communication, that addresses this political divide at the root level and encourages curiosity coupled with listening when challenged with conflict. The Red Boot Way continues to be used in multiple venues across the country.

Barker is currently a sought-after public speaker, known for her vulnerability, wit, storytelling, and authenticity and is the author of three books. She speaks to a variety of audiences, including kids to corporations and everything in between! She is currently writing a memoir.

Barker has won multiple awards for her activism, including “the Distinguished Alumni Award” given by her alma mater, UNC-Chapel Hill, “The Daily Point of Light Award” given by Presidents’ Barack Obama and George H.W. Bush at a ceremony at the White House, and was selected by Runner’s World Magazine as one of the top 50 Most Influential People in the Sport of Running.

Barker currently lives in Charlotte, NC and is the single mom to James, 27, and Helen 23. Thirty years in recovery from alcohol addiction, Barker is very active in the recovery community. She is also deeply engaged with a variety of programs that assist and advocate for people living with housing insecurity. She continues to compete in cycling events and duathlons, loving most the ranch roads in far west Texas, where she returned to the sport in 2018.