Robyn Benincasa is a World Champion Adventure Racer, award-winning motivational speaker, 3x Guinness World Record kayaker, San Diego firefighter, 10x Ironman triathlete, New York Times bestselling author, proud owner of two bionic metal hips, and the Founder and CEO of The 501c3 Project Athena Foundation, which helps survivors live an adventurous dream as part of their recovery.
For the past 20 years, Robyn and her teammates have studied teambuilding, leadership and performance in the most extreme classrooms on Earth: the jungles of Borneo, the Himalayan peaks of Tibet, the rivers of Fiji, the rainforests of Ecuador, and the epic brush fires of Southern California! It is through these harrowing, life affirming, and often hilarious experiences that Robyn has emerged with her unique perspective on what it takes to succeed against all odds and go the distance in any endeavor.
Through her inspirational keynotes and adventures, Robyn has helped Fortune 500 companies including Starbucks, Wal-Mart, Johnson & Johnson, Northrup, Siemens, Napster, Nestle, and OTHERSto bring out the world class team builder, leader and peak performer in their employees. NBC, ABC, CNN, ESPN, USA Network, The Discovery Channel, the Today Show, Live With Regis, Dateline NBC, Vogue, Sports Illustrated, Harpers Bazaar, Fast Company, Runners World, and Outside Magazine have all featured Robyn and teams’ amazing ability to Adapt, Overcome, and Win as ONE in times of great challenge and change.
In her New York Times bestselling book, How Winning Works, Robyn shares the essential teambuilding and leadership skills that she and her teammates discovered on their quest to win “the toughest races on Earth”.
In 2014, Robyn was named a CNN Hero for the Project Athena Foundation. Project Athena is a 501c3 non-profit foundation that helps women who have endured life-altering medical setbacks live an adventurous dream as part of their recovery. “I’m honored to be chosen a CNN Hero,” she says, “but the Athenas who reach their recovery goal of a Project Athena adventure are the true heroes. The mission of the foundation is to put Athenas in a position to inspire and amaze themselves—to be the very best they are today.”