Marcel DeBary Gagnon, The Purpose-Driven Powerhouse
Marcel DeBary Gagnon got it from her mama—her passion for giving back, that is. Inspired by the women who came before her, Gagnon treats service as a lifestyle: showing up, giving her best and leaving people better than she found them. It’s a tradition she’s kept alive with real action, even while juggling a busy blended family of seven. Each week, she sets aside four dedicated hours to support causes close to her heart, from children’s and faith-based charities to women’s wrestling. Now at 51, with many new adventures on the horizon, she’s looking at life through the windshield, not the rear view mirror, guided by her own personal Southern mantra: “Plan it, then live it with joy.”
Tell us about a woman you’ve mentored whose journey inspired you in return.
One of my proudest mentoring moments is with my daughter. When Georgia sanctioned co-ed wrestling, she came home and said, “Mom, I want to wrestle.” I thought, Well, this is new…and this is going to be amazing. I found her coaches, studied the rulebooks and let her take the lead. That leap turned into a journey, recruitment to the top women’s team in the nation, international medals and now a spot in Texas Woman’s University’s first D2 women’s program. Today, we stand side by side in the Wrestlers in Business Network — and cheering her on is as fulfilling and inspiring as anything I’ve done.
What is your favorite way to give back to your community?
Supporting my daughter and other women in wrestling is one of my biggest passions. I believe in proving one step, one wrestler and one woman at a time that this sport belongs to everyone. Through advocacy, mentorship and cheering from the sidelines, I get to create ripples of progress that grow into waves of change.
What role has fitness and discipline played in shaping your resilience?
Being active has always been part of my joy. Growing up in Albany, Georgia, you had yardwork, housework, a sport and a musical instrument every single day. Now, I love moving my body in all kinds of ways: sometimes it’s a solo workout, sometimes with my husband or my girlfriends—the “Sassy Sisters.” For me, fitness is about staying grounded, laughing through the sweat and celebrating what our bodies can do.
What is the one thing you’ve learned to appreciate with time?
I’ve learned to treasure freedom. Helping grow women’s wrestling by over 9,000% showed me how powerful choice really is. As a young woman, I didn’t realize how much rules shaped opportunities. Now, I savor freedom the way Southerners savor sweet tea on a summer porch.
