Episode 17: Shayna Powless - a podcast by Pri Jindal, Sarah Lewis

Raised in Sacramento, California, Shayna started out as a competitive runner and triathlete from elementary through high school. In 2012, her senior year of high school, she decided to switch her focus from competing in multiple sports (track and field, cross country, triathlons, and cycling), to focusing solely on cross-country mountain biking. She also represented the national team, and won the mountain bike national championship title in 2013. While attending school at UCLA, she competed in both road and mountain bike racing with the UCLA cycling team. In 2016, she graduated with a B.A. in Psychology and went on to work as a physical therapy aide. She then became a USA Cycling certified coach while continuing with her professional cycling career.

Shayna raced with the BMC MTB Development team from 2012-2014 and the Liv Co-Factory MTB team from 2015-2016. In 2017, she switched her focus to road racing and gained valuable experience from racing in the pro peloton. She plans to continue making road racing her primary focus in the upcoming years and is very excited to be supported by Team TWENTY24, a team she knows will help her accomplish her goals.

Outside of cycling, Shayna is passionate about mentoring and inspiring others to lead healthy lifestyles through sports and cycling. She has hosted various community cycling events including numerous trips to different Native American reservations. She continues to support her tribe, The Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, where she has family ties. In conjunction with these events, she and her partner, Eli Ankou (of the Ojibwe tribe) have started a non-profit organization called the Dreamcatcher Foundation. This foundation is dedicated to empowering youth through sports, focusing on football and cycling camps. It is also committed to bringing awareness to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls pandemic currently happening across North America.

Dreamcatcher Foundation website: https://www.dreamcatcherfdn.org

Donation Page: https://www.dreamcatcherfdn.org/donate

Instagram: @dream_catcher_fdn

Further episodes of Worth It: Conversations on Race and Gender in Athletics

Further podcasts by Pri Jindal, Sarah Lewis

Website of Pri Jindal, Sarah Lewis