This episode of The Checkpoint podcast is supported by Adidas Terrex.

In episode 34 Marcus and Sabrina speak with Sophia Danenberg, an American mountain climber.

In 2006 Sophia became the first African American and first Black woman to climb Mount Everest in the Himalayas. Additionally she has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, Mount Rainier, The Matterhorn and Cotopaxi plus many more.

Born in Japan to her Japanese mother and African American father, who was stationed at a U.S. military base in Japan at the time, Sophia and her family eventually settled stateside, in the Chicago area. She went on to Harvard University and became one of the first five students to earn an environmental sciences and public policy degree from the prestigious institution. In her day job she specialises in environmental sciences and public policies.

Whilst we cover the topics previously mentioned, we also have to talk about the time that she partied with Jay-Z, Beyoncé, President Obama to name a few.

It is a really honest and insightful conversation into what it means to be a pioneer in your field, all whilst being true to who you are and what you believe in. Sophia talks about the importance of using her role to inspire the next generation, to show that the climbing world is a space for young girls, demonstrating that women have the power to accomplish incredible things.

You can learn more about these groups by going to the links below.

https://www.browngirlsclimb.com/

https://www.flashfoxy.com/

https://www.fullcircleeverest.com/

You can follow her on Instagram: https://instagram.com/sophiaclimbs?utm_medium=copy_link

You can watch her Ted talk here: https://youtu.be/mMDr9Psdmrw TEDxUChicago