Exploring Life & Business with Kieren Britton of The Lady Alliance

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kieren Britton. Them and their team share their story with us below:

The Lady Alliance aims to build confidence and community through adventure. Whether you’re seeking personal growth or healing, lacing up your first pair of hiking shoes, interested in environmental initiatives, or tackling your 100th summit, The Lady Alliance will be there to help you along the way. 

The Lady Alliance aims to create a safe and inclusive space for women, non-binary individuals, transgender men, and anyone who feels a fit here. Our hope is that no matter who you are, you feel at home in our community. 

Our beginning starts like many other equity-seeking communities. After being told too many times that she was “brave for a girl”, Kieren Britton, founder of The Lady Alliance, had had enough. We have this bravery in all of us, it’s not restricted by gender. Kieren was determined to bring this to light. 

The Lady Alliance started as an online social community where women had the chance to share their story. Whether it was a photo or adventure article, ladies could submit their adventures and speak through The Lady Alliance. 

As the community grew, so did the demand for a chance to meet everyone in person. The Lady Alliance’s first all-women meet-up was held in September 2017 at the A O Wheeler Hut in Glacier National Park. 

This meet-up was titled the “First Annual Long Weekend Meet-Up” as there was no original intention of becoming an adventure traveling community. We had no idea how excited this community was to meet in person. It reached capacity in only a matter of weeks and was full of inspiring women from all over the globe. 

Since our first trip, The Lady Alliance has grown to include other adventures, retreats, and courses. We have yoga-d in Bali, surfed in Tofino, learned avalanche safety, and so much more. In March of 2018, Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC) partnered with The Lady Alliance to help extend our reach to empower women of all ages and backgrounds. 

Moving into 2022 The Lady Alliance is registered fully as a nonprofit focused on providing scholarships for BIPOC, LGBTQ2S+, and all women within our community to help encourage safe adventures in the outdoors. From Avalanche Safety Training courses to wilderness first aid and everything in between, The Lady Alliance will become the scholarship hub for outdoor adventure. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been massive struggles along the way. 

We merged with another company back in 2019, which ended up not going well. This company is now under new ownership and we work well together now, however back in 2019 upon the dissolution of our merged company The Lady Alliance had a major loss. 

We have also hired some wrong people. We brought on a website development company in early 2020 that nearly drained the company completely and did not deliver, then completely disappeared. 

Lastly, of course, COVID was a major struggle. Our film festivals were our major source of income. When movie theatre and 100+ attendee events became extinct we struggled to find a new source of revenue. 

Lots of lessons have been learned. Luckily, each struggle led to further incredible growth. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
The Lady Alliance is now known for our chapters spanning across North America, our online festivals, and our scholarships. 

We also have a tv channel at tv.theladyalliance.com where we host our festivals and other incredible outdoor films. 

I would say I am the most proud of how many people have volunteered their time with us. We have a community of over 35 volunteers that run free outdoor community-building events across North America. 

Moving forward into 2022 we are joining the Unity Collective, where we will be hosting our film festivals. The Lady Alliance will focus only on scholarships, but we cannot wait to share our film festivals with your readers through the Unity Collective (website launching January 1: UnityCollectiveMedia.com). We are one of many equity seeking communities involved in this collective. 

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I believe the outdoor community will become more and more inclusive. We have a long way to go but it is our hope that we see support and dedication to the BIPOC and LGBTQ2S+ communities in the outdoors. 

They are out there, sending it and sharing incredible adventures – they have not been well represented on screen. Additionally, outdoor adventure has such a high financial barrier to entry, I hope to see even more distribution of financial support in getting everyone into the outdoors. 

I also think we will start to see the mental health industry become more and more entwined with the outdoor industry as mental health becomes a more accepted topic of conversation. 

Pricing:

• Scholarship application – Free
• Monthly events in local chapters – Free
• Festivals online – Free

Contact Info:

• Email: kieren@theladyalliance.com
• Website: theladyalliance.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theladyalliance/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theladyalliance/
• Other: tv.theladyalliance.com

Image Credits
The Lady Alliance