Combating the Maternal Health Crisis, with to Allyson Felix

Allyson Felix is a champion on the track and off of it. As the most decorated athlete in track and field history, she's won 31 medals at the Olympics and world championships. But in 2018, during the emergency birth of her daughter, she suffered from severe preeclampsia that nearly cost both her and her daughter their lives. That experience led her to become a fierce advocate for maternal health, spotlighting the disparities that put too many women – especially women of color – at risk. In this episode of the Best Leaders Podcast from U.S. News & World Report, Eric Gertler, Executive Chairman and CEO of U.S. News, sits down with Allyson Felix to discuss her advocacy, her entrepreneurship and her next chapter. Felix launched the women's athletic shoe company Saysh in 2021, and she co-founded Always Alpha, a management firm focused on women's sports. She retired from competition in 2022 – but shortly after this conversation was recorded, she announced that she's returning to running with her sights set on the 2028 Olympics in her hometown of Los Angeles. Learn more: U.S. News Best Leaders: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-leaders  Allyson Felix’s U.S. News Best Leaders profile: https://www.usnews.com/news/leaders/articles/best-leaders-2025-allyson-felix More from U.S. News & World Report: https://www.usnews.com/