About Us

WHO WE ARE

We Run Brownsville (WRB) is a community-based, nonprofit organization that works to improve health outcomes for Black and Brown women by creating a brave space to cultivate their well-being and the well-being of the larger community.

WHAT WE DO

WRB is a grassroots effort to encourage women who are living and working in Brownsville to take ownership of their physical, mental, emotional and financial wellness. Team members belong to a caring peer network that centers healing, supports personal growth and celebrates group achievements within a framework guided by authentic voice, compassion, and joy.

Through the lens of collective responsibility, we lift “active activism” to disrupt systems of inequity and resist harmful policies. Our focus is on promoting the justice required to LITERALLY move our community forward.

HOW WE GOT STARTED

In 2015, the New York State Health Foundation released a pool of funds to six areas within the state where overall living conditions negatively impacted the lives of residents. A local organization was designated to manage the Brownsville Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative with provisions to support community members in crafting innovative ways for their neighbors to access their best health with the help of great ideas and modest funding. With little to no outreach and even less coaching for the handful of residents who knew to apply, most of the funding was slated to go to organizations with existing significant budgets. We Run Brownsville co-founders Sheila Barksdale-Gordon and Dionne Grayman decided to channel the “Brooklyn Girl Spirit” of Shirley Chisholm and brought folding chairs to the table in order to reclaim the narrative about our neighborhood. We Run Brownsville with joy…..healing….. and power!

To learn more about our co-founders, click here.