To Every Woman Who Ever Laced Up,

I want you to hear this from me first.

One in every 14 Black women in America is a GirlTREK member. From Leimert Park to Prospect Park, superhero blue shirts cover the streets of this great nation. We set out to rally a million to save our own lives - and we did it.

Mission accomplished. That is rare.

And because it’s true, I have something important to tell you.

On April 1, I will transition out of my role as CEO of GirlTREK. This decision has been months in the making - held in prayer, shaped in conversation with our board, our staff, and trusted elders - and I am at peace.

Let me tell you what brought me here.

On Juneteenth, I walked into a community center near my home in New Jersey. Two college students stood at the door holding blue clipboards. “Good morning. We are part of GirlTREK. We walk together to heal our bodies, inspire our sisters, and reclaim the streets of our neighborhoods. Would you like to sign up?”

I didn’t tell them I was one of the founders. I just said yes. Yes, I trust them. Yes, I trust the next generation. Yes, I trust each of you to lead GirlTREK in the ways your community needs most.

After seventeen years, I know myself well. I am an entrepreneur and an organizer. I hear a call, I gather people, I build. That is my joy and my gift. GirlTREK has grown into something that now deserves dedicated, sustainable operational leadership - the kind that manages complexity, builds systems, and runs the long game. I gave that my very best. But the truest gift I can give this movement now is the self-awareness to know when someone else’s best is what’s needed next. That moment freed me. And honestly? It excited me.

Before I made this decision final, I called Debe Davis - elder, organizer, woman of faith. Before I could finish a sentence, past my tears, she said: “I think I know why you’re calling. Morgan, sometimes you’ve got to step aside to step up. It’s time to step up.”

She was right.

In 2008, I wrote the words Girl and Trek together for the first time on my BlackBerry on the A train going into Harlem. I had no idea. From shaking Michelle Obama’s hand on behalf of a million Black women, to walking in the very footsteps of Harriet Tubman during a snowstorm while cracking y’all up on the Steve Harvey show - it has been nothing short of miraculous. But the very best part has always been hugging individual women in the street and listening to your testimonies and knowing how far we have come together.

Look at what God has done through all of us. 

We built the largest health movement for Black women - maybe in the world. We walked into CNN studios, onto stages, down dirt roads and out of church basements - and we flooded every street with hope and a new culture of health. We told our stories and protected our history. We secured Dr. Martin Luther King’s office in Montgomery - sacred ground where the Bus Boycotts began - and made it our organizing headquarters. We built a self-sustaining curriculum designed to outlast all of us.

In one of the hardest political and economic seasons in memory, we kept our entire staff employed and our members walking. I am so grateful for every single person on our national team - their excellence, their dedication, and their love for this movement carried us here.

And I thank God. Sincerely and completely.

GirlTREK is prepared for this moment. We have dedicated funders, a strategic plan built with every level of this organization, and Vanessa is staying in leadership, working with the board to shape the year ahead. This organization is in very good hands - many of them. You’ll hear directly from the new leadership team soon, and I hope to celebrate with you in person at our annual membership meeting on April 1st. Please mark your calendar.

I am not leaving GirlTREK. I will serve on the board as a co-founder and volunteer - because our mission to care for ourselves and one another has never been more urgent.

This mission is personal. I’ve been exercising everyday, eating right and I feel good.  Less talk. More walk.

What I ask of you is simple: your prayers, your goodwill, and your leadership on your street. And please celebrate with me: 17 years of service!!! Thank you for trusting me. It has been the absolute honor of my life.

I cannot wait to see you out there walking, leading, living your healthiest, most fulfilled life.

I’ll be right there with you.

With all my heart,

Morgan

Stay in touch: Instagram @morgantreks | morgantreks@gmail.com

Photos that delighted my heart