2. Keynote - Sharon Gallant

A joint presentation on how FAB evolved and the work they do to support at-risk girls and young women by motivating and engaging them to be active for life.

Sharon is an accomplished high-performance triathlete with over 20 years of racing experience, including participation in several world championship events, such as

Ironman Hawaii twice and the upcoming Half Ironman World Championships in New

Zealand this December. Her journey to success, however, was not without significant

challenges. As a young girl of 13, Sharon’s family unit collapsed when her parents

began to struggle with drug addiction. By the time she was 16, she was parentless,

living in poverty, had dropped out of school, was in an unhealthy relationship, and had a

child on the way.

Despite facing immense obstacles, Sharon’s unwavering commitment to creating a

better life for her daughter led her to a successful career in financial services. During

this time, she learned two crucial lessons that would drive her future success. First, she

discovered that successful people set goals, and there is a model for goal setting that

anyone can learn to create meaningful change in their lives. Second, after she began

running at 26, she realized the direct links between setting a goal for a 5K run and

setting life goals. The more she embraced these lessons, the more her purpose began

to shift.

As Sharon transformed her life, she developed a deep desire to help young girls

become strong women by combining the power of sport with a goal-setting framework.

In 2009, at the age of 32, she left her career and founded the Fit Active Beautiful

Foundation (FAB). FAB uses running to teach and inspire young girls living in lower-

income neighborhoods, helping them develop the skills and confidence to lead

empowered lives. The program is free and provides each girl with running shoes, a

training shirt, transportation, entry into all program events, and a goal-setting journal.

FAB participants finish the program with the powerful knowledge that they are capable

of more than they ever thought possible and with the skills to make empowered

decisions.

In 2021, Sharon started I Defy Coaching, where she works one-on-one with women to

help them achieve their athletic goals. Sharon feels most engaged, passionate, and

committed when supporting others in pursuing their goals. Whether working with women

or young girls, her sweet spot is helping them discover a deeper capacity within

themselves through sport and using that powerful knowledge to dream big and live big.