Marguerite started TriThrift in January of 2023 after seeing a need to lessen some of the most common barriers that kept people from participating in endurance sports. After talking with others and having experiences of her own, she found that self-doubt, financial cost, and accessibility were some of the biggest roadblocks.
She has a passion for equipping people of all abilities with the tools they need to reach their full potential in work, education, health, and beyond and firmly believes that health and education can transform our communities, but significant barriers prevent such transformation. By creating TriThrift, she seeks to add a small piece to the puzzle that is the solution to combat these challenges and transform our communities for the betterment of all people.
Marguerite graduated from college in 2018 and has been a K-12 special education teacher the last six years. She taught two years as a Teach For America corps member in Holyoke, MA before moving to Minneapolis, MN and teaching there. Most recently, she was the program manager for Her Next Play and she currently teaches special education in Howard County, MD.
She holds a personal training certification with NASM and serves on the board for Girls on the Run Central Maryland. She earned her B.A. from Duquesne University and M.S Ed. from Boston University School of Education.
Elise is the President of the DC Triathlon Club. She completed her first triathlon when she joined the DCTri Club in 2019 through the New Triathlete Program. Previous to triathlons, Elise had always been active, mainly running, playing basketball or practicing capoeira. Triathlons were the first time she biked or swam competitively.
Elise got into triathlons during a major transition in her life, which involved a sudden divorce, unexpected move back to the US after 10+ years abroad and dramatic career shift. She attributes the goal of having a race, the routine of training and the camaraderie of the club as helping her through that very challenging period in a healthy and enriching way.
An enthusiastic triathlete and intersectional feminist, she appreciates the mission and vision of TriThrift in breaking down barriers to endurance sports. She’s a social justice advocate and studied Human Rights and Children’s Rights during her undergraduate and master’s degrees.
Aside from triathlons, Elise works at American Express, selling AP Automation software. She speaks 3 foreign languages (Spanish, German, French), after having lived and worked in Spain, Germany, Switzerland and Ecuador. Elise also plays keyboard and sings in local bands.
Read her Tri & Write blog here.
Dr. Jasmine Rogers is a Manager and Coach with the In Schools program at the DC Reading Clinic, a clinical reading practicum program with the District of Columbia Public Schools. In this role, she facilitates professional development on structured literacy best practices and coaches teachers as they apply their learning to their small-group instructional practice. In addition, she is passionate about supporting teachers as they work to provide comprehensive literacy instruction to struggling readers. Before this role, she was an elementary school teacher for nine years in various positions, including teaching Kindergarten, Special Education (Self-Contained and Resource/Inclusion), and serving as a Reading Specialist. As a teacher, she served as a mentor at the DC Reading Clinic from its inaugural cohort in 2019 until she departed the classroom in 2022.
A proud HBCU graduate, Jasmine earned her B.S. in Marketing and M.S. in Sport Administration from Delaware State University. She also obtained master’s degrees in Elementary Education and Special Education from Lesley University. Currently, Jasmine is an Early Literacy Intervention Lead at American University, where she earned her EdD in Education Policy and Leadership within the Early Literacy Cohort. Her research focuses on the intersection of Black Language and best practices for structured literacy instruction, working to help teachers develop linguistically and culturally responsive teaching environments as they teach foundational literacy skills. She also works as an Adjunct Instructor teaching a Foundations of Reading course to students in the Teacher Education Master’s program at American University.
In her free time, she enjoys competing in triathlons, spending time with her 5-year-old nephew, and singing karaoke.
Read her Tri & Write blog here.
Kyla Lupo is a USA Triathlon certified coach with a Master's in Education from George Washington University. She brings years of experience in coaching people in a variety of situations, including triathlon. Kyla is also a US Masters Level 1/2 certified swim coach and a Roadrunners Club of America certified run coach.
As a coach, Kyla believes that anyone can tri in the body they have right now and works with athletes on a personal level to overcome their fear and doubts while getting fit and ready for the start line.
Actively advocating for a radical level of body acceptance in sport and society, Kyla started Team Go Big as a place where all bodies would feel welcome and supported.
As an athlete herself, Kyla will represent Team USA in Townsville, Australia in August 2024. Kyla is a nationally ranked Age Group aquathlete. In 2021 Kyla qualified for and competed at the Age Group Sprint National Championships in Milwaukee. She has completed over 70 races across the Multisport spectrum. Is 2024 the year she conquers a marathon? Stay tuned!
Kyla lives in Central Florida on the Atlantic Coast with the Banana Man, hundreds of board games, 4 bikes, and 3 adorable cats.
Read her Tri & Write blog here.
Rachel is the Learner Engagement Associate at Generation, a nonprofit organization that both trains and places people into life-changing careers that would otherwise be inaccessible.
At Generation, her work is focused on impacting the learner and alumni experience. She is passionate about the learner and alumni journey and as she works towards preparing, placing and supporting people into life-changing careers, she counts herself lucky to interact with different stakeholders to ensure the learners and alumni feel supported, invested, and engaged.
With a passion for life-long learning, her previous work has been focused on improving the stakeholder experience through her work in operations and the education field. As a Spanish Teacher through the Teach For America program, she came face to face with the inequity that so many face. This shaped her ability to identify learning opportunities and make an impact on both an individual and on a larger scale. She is skilled at managing projects to reach and exceed goals and make a lasting impact.
She graduated Summa Cum Laude with Honors from Duquesne University and holds degrees in both Communications and Spanish with minors in Philosophy and Sociology. During her time at University, she met Marguerite and she is fortunate to count her as a lifelong friend and source of inspiration. She became interested in strength and conditioning and enjoys daily workouts, walks, and desserts!
Read her Tri & Write blog here.
Amy is a certified rehabilitation counselor helping individuals with disabilities obtain and maintain employment.
She has a Master's degree in clinical rehabilitation counseling from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and she is a big advocate for people with disabilities and strives to reduce the barriers that may impact a person to achieve their ultimate goal(s).
In her free time, she enjoys being outdoors, baking, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.
Read her Tri & Write blog here.
Pamela works as a user support specialist for the Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress. In this role she serves as a liaison between CRS and developers, advocates for improvements in UX, and provides training and one-on-one help for staff. She has a B.A. in Political Science and a M.P.P. (Master's of Public Policy) both from UMass, Amherst.
Most of Pamela's free time is spent running (or thinking about running), but when she is not running or working, she enjoys spending time with her family and pets, reading, and engaging in various types of needlework. Aside from Trithrift, Pamela is passionate about mental health and works with an organization called Still I run, which promotes running for mental health.
Read her Tri & Write blog here.
Michanda is a community builder, endurance athlete, and storyteller whose life's work sits at the intersection of access, trust, and possibility. As a Network Project Manager at the DC Bar Foundation, she leads the DC Social Justice Transformations Network, bringing together leaders across nonprofit, legal, and government sectors to build stronger, more connected communities. Her work centers on collaboration and creating systems that allow people to thrive together, and with more than 15 years of experience in ecosystem strategy and relationship weaving, she knows how to build the conditions for belonging.
She is also the host of Tri Beginner's Luck, a podcast recognized by Triathlete Magazine, where she amplifies the voices and stories of athletes navigating the journey of starting, restarting, and redefining what it means to belong in triathlon. Through her platform, she makes the sport more approachable, human, and inclusive for beginners. As a triathlon race announcer and emcee for endurance events, she is known for energizing crowds, celebrating athletes of all levels, and creating meaningful moments at the finish line.
As a new board member of TriThrift, Michanda is putting her networks, her voice, and her lived experience as a beginner-turned-committed-athlete in service of a mission she deeply believes in: that access to gear should never be the reason someone cannot begin. She is passionate about helping athletes take their first step through shared resources, community support, and visibility.
At her core, Michanda is driven by a simple belief: the strongest communities are built over time through trust, consistency, and shared experience. Through her work, her voice, and her presence in the sport, she is helping triathlon become a place where more people can see themselves and stay.