Meet Our New Friends - Moosejaw

Published by Moosejaw and sent to email subscribers on February 17, 2022.

Deborah McGlawn is on a mission: to empower black women to change the narrative of the outdoors, one adventure at a time, while increasing the presence of brown faces in green spaces. She accomplishes this mission with the help of waterfalls and her organization Ch8sing Waterfalls. In 2011, Deborah’s husband Richie realized she needed a therapeutic adventure; something to help her find peace from the long-lasting depression mostly caused by the sudden loss of their infant daughter, D’Anika LaShay, in 1993. He took her on a hike to a waterfall. It was there that Deborah was able to embark on her journey toward a deep and transformative healing.

Deborah founded Ch8sing Waterfalls to build a safe space for black and brown women to heal and experience the outdoors the way she had years earlier. Since September 17, 2017, Ch8sing Waterfalls has taken groups of black women hiking to waterfalls at least once a month. They call those hikes “Ch8ses”. That’s a lot of hikes, and a lot of healing. Ch8ses take place on the first Saturday of each month. You can check out the schedule here.

The 8 in “Ch8ses” and “Ch8sing Waterfalls” represents the infinity symbol. This symbol reminds Deborah and Richie of their daughter D’Anika’s infinite presence in their lives. Last year, Ch8sing Waterfalls received their 501(c)(3) designation, which will allow their program to grow and touch the lives of even more women from all over the country. We couldn’t be more stoked for them! Head on over to Instagram and check out the stories from past Chases, or visit Ch8singwaterfalls.com to join an event or donate.