Jennifer Heiner-Pisano is the retail director of a running specialty company based out of Bergen County, New Jersey. In addition to her professional interest in the run specialty market and all things running in general, Jennifer Heiner-Pisano has been a member of several running organizations, including New York Road Runners and USA Track and Field (USATF) over the last few years.

New York Road Runners (NYRR) prides itself on representing the interests of almost 700,000 members and runners who compete in various races and events that the organization holds every year. Historically, the organization has said that it has made a commitment to diversity and inclusion. 

However, during the summer of 2020, a mostly anonymous media campaign was launched on Instagram by many current and former NYRR employees, many of whom had been furloughed during the pandemic ridden year.  These social media posts alleged and highlighted supposed racisim, sexism, and an overall culture issue at NYRR.   While it took the organization a while to respond, after which it hired outside counsel to review the claims and allegations, NYRR began collaborating with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) experts on matters of workplace inclusivity and strategies for effecting change throughout the greater New York running community. Similarly, the organization has initiated outreach efforts among employees, as well as the state’s runners. 

Many of the organization's top leaders, including the CEO, were removed from their posts and interims were put into place to begin to effectuate the much-needed changes. Hopefully 2021 will mark the start of a better future for NYRR and the groups it maintains it supports and promotes.