Equity Design

Maurelhena Walles’ personal narrative from NYC schoolyard tag champion to representing the United States and winning the 60m in Korea at World Masters Athletics Championship dictated her professional journey of creating healthier lives for underserved communities through physical activity.  

She holds an Advanced Certificate from NYU in Education Communication and Technology, an MFA in Television Production from Brooklyn College and a Bachelor of Arts from Alabama A&M University. She also has her certification in personal training, youth development and training special populations.

As the Founder and CEO of Equity Design, she uses her expertise in instructional design and athletics to invest in the health of underserved communities through physical activity programming to help shorten the gap between health, wealth and life expectancy. The core of her success, on and off the track, is defined by her passion and commitment to using physical activity as a tool to educate and empower.

Physical activity inequities are based on race/ethnicity, gender, socio-economic, pre-existing conditions, accessibility and availability of services. This is more evident in the Bronx, where your life expectancy is 7 years less than if you lived across the water in Manhattan.  For close to ten years, the Bronx has been #62 out of 62 counties in the state of New York, making it one of the poorest and unhealthiest counties. To help change the trajectory of the health of the Bronx, I am looking to optimize data and an equity lens to drive my decision around the design of sustainable physical activity programming that can help shorten the gap between health, wealth and life expectancy.  By using data and an equity lens, physical activity programming can be prescribed to people and communities based on their health disparities and interests, allowing for a decrease in health outcomes and an increase in engagement. 

The health of 1.4 million Bronx residents has remained unchanged for almost ten years. In the 2018 New York City Community Health Profile, the Bronx still remains one of the unhealthiest counties in the state of New York. The obesity rate in Mott Haven and Hunts Point are 42% in comparison to the Upper West Side which is 10%. Communities in the South Bronx, report 65% of physical activity in comparison to affluent communities in Manhattan, reporting 90% of its community participating in physical activity. These statistics show how the lack of exercise in the county greatly affects the borough’s overall health.  In a focus group conducted by Equity Design, South Bronx residents want to be more physically active but cited safety, lack of open space and access to medical care as reasons for not being physically active. But the need to shift a community’s behavior and attitude toward physical activity isn’t just a Bronx thing, it’s a national thing.  As a nation, we spend the most in health care, yet have the lowest life expectancy and the highest chronic disease burden.

As a data-informed business, Equity Design ask our Bronx partner schools and organizations the right questions to design the best physical activity program and services needed for their community to thrive: (1) what problem(s) are we trying to solve or behavior changed through physical activity, (2) what is the best possible option to create a sustainable program while delivering outcomes and decreasing health disparities (3) what is needed to achieve equity and increase engagement in physical activity in the community? We motivate, inspire and transform lives through physical activity, helping youths and adults get stronger and make smarter healthier choices that will improve their overall quality of life.

From youth sports programming, where we teach basketball in cafeterias, without the basket, or the ball, to a partnership with Lincoln Hospital where they track the blood pressure of participants in a free community fitness classes that takes place in a church in the South Bronx; we work with our community partners to identify then eliminate ANY barriers. Limited space, no problem. No equipment no problem. No excuse will stand in the way of us creating healthy individuals and thriving Bronx communities.

Good health is not only determined by personal choice, but rather it is shaped by differences in health outcomes, including education, economic opportunities and access to quality preventive health care services.  According to the Center for Disease Control, women, minorities, minority youth and individuals with less education in underserved communities, had lower participation rates in physical activity. In the South Bronx, where Latinx and Blacks account for 81% of the population, we held a focus group to better understand the needs of the residents and why physical activity levels of engagement were the lowest in comparison to their Manhattan neighbors. They cited being unable to afford gyms and given their health disparities, they didn’t know how to safely work out without hurting themselves or being judged.  One statement stood out the most, “contrary to what people may believe we don’t want to die…we want to be healthy.”  This is one of many focus groups I would like to conduct in partnership with schools and  organizations before deciding on the type of physical activity programming for Bronx communities.  By applying an equity lens to the design of programming, participants will be more inclined to be engaged in physical activity. 

I started Equity Design because I have unfinished business in the Bronx. 

In 2015, as the Executive Director of Fit 4 Life NYC, I started working with community health organizations, like Bronx Health Reach, in response to the Borough President's campaign, #not62.  The county was once again named the unhealthiest and poorest county in the state of NY.  From this time until the acquisition of Fit 4 Life NYC, our work in the Bronx expanded to faith-based initiatives, professional development and initatives like Teacher Fit Day where we celebrated Bronx teachers through self-care and physical activity. 

The mission of Fit 4 Life NYC was personal to me. As an athlete, I experienced firsthand the value of resources to help me reach my full athletic potential on the track as well as the discipline sports and fitness provided me off the track, in my career. After the organization was acquired, I became a social entrepreneur, expanding and continuing to carry out the mission, this time designing physical activity programming through an equity lens. Despite efforts from political leaders and organizations, the Bronx remains at 62.  First on the agenda for Equity Design, helping the Bronx reimagine their approach to physical activity. 

My experience and passion for empowering communities through physical activity leads me to believe that I am in a position to make a difference. I have experienced the inequities in communities of colors and represent people who have been underserved and overlooked.  As a child, I was resourceful, using games like tag and free track meets as practice to work on my speed.  When the time came, I traded the concrete jungle of NYC for the oval office at Alabama A&M University where I was awarded a partial track scholarship.  Since college, l used that same speed that prevented me from getting tagged on the playground to travel and represent the United States in countries such as Brazil, Poland and Hungary.  In 2017, in Korea, I earned the World Championship Masters Athletics gold medal in the 60 meters dash.  My strength on the track is synonymous with my drive and persistence off the track. I still maintain a rigorous training and competitive schedule, while balancing family and my passion for advocating for quality physical activity programming so that every person can be afforded the opportunity to have access to the necessary resources to help them live their healthiest life possible.

My personal narrative as a track athlete, representing the United States and genuine love for physical activity has fueled my desire to create a social enterprise focused on changing lives, one community at a time.  As the former Executive Director of Fit 4 Life NYC, along with staff that overwhelmingly represented the communities we serviced, I embarked on the mission of making NYC’s underserved youth healthy, by creating an all-inclusive active learning environments for over 5,000 youth. The result was a profitable B Corporation with a value for service structure and workforce development model that earned the organization the Best For NYC and Best For The World awards.  

The acquisition of Fit 4 Life NYC didn’t stop me from serving my community. Instead, I rewrote my narrative and founded Equity Design, a start-up social enterprise that brings equity to underserved communities, through sustainable physical activity programming that will help increase their life expectancy while creating a long-lasting and healthy connection to physical activity.  My first plan of action is to focus on the Bronx, NY, one of the unhealthiest and poorest counties in the state of NY.

As the Founder and CEO of Equity Design, I will use my expertise in instructional strategies, data and an equity lens to design customized physical activity programs that address the specific health needs of each underserved Bronx community. 

As a social entrepreneur who was finding her stride, the presence of COVID made it difficult to continue. Lack of capital and needing to stay home to care for my family, left me no other choice but to pause and rethink my approach to my initiative. But I couldn’t stay idle for long. Data started to reveal that NYC underserved communities of color, particularly in the Bronx, were being hit hardest by the pandemic. 

In the past 3 months, I held over 25 virtual tea and chat sessions with leaders from Bronx schools, the U.S. Department of Health, Bronx DA’s office and the Bronx Borough President’s office to understand the challenges they were facing in engaging Bronx communities through physical activities.  I established a social media presence using the platform to position Equity Design’s stance and bring awareness on current issues rooted in the lack of equity in underserved communities as well as the increase of health disparities in the Bronx, as a result of COVID-19.  We designed a survey for Bronx residents, schools and organizations. The data from the survey will drive our decision as to the type of virtual physical activity program communities will most likely engage in.

Though the first chapter of my NYC story started in East Harlem, I spent my childhood years, on the Upper West Side. This was by design. My father had a vision for us. However, we know that money makes NYC neighborhoods move and my family had very little of it.  Lights off, phone disconnected, barely enough food to make a meal for a family were all constant reminders for me that maybe my father’s design was flawed.  However, my father knew that growing up in an affluent community means more access to the best schools and resources that would help his daughters succeed. He was right.  Growing up in that environment without money, I learned not only how to do more with less, but because of my race, I would be seen as less than, leaving me no choice but to do more if I wanted to succeed. My hustle and grind would need to be on 110% because 100% was just average. It was this mindset and these lessons that wrote the remaining chapters and laid the pavement for the path towards leadership designed for me by a father who wanted nothing more than access to opportunities for us.

Data drives decision making in various sectors, including business, education and health. So then why aren't we using data to drive our decision around the design of physical activity programming?  While conducting market research for Equity Design, we found that Bronx schools, community based organizations and government programs lack the expertise and time needed to design and thoroughly measure the impact of physical activity programming beyond reach. 

My unqiue approach is to design, implement and evaluate programming that dispels the notion that fitness is not fitness if you are not sweating or experiencing any pain. Instead, youth and adults deserve and can have a positive experience with physical activity by camouflaging it with fun activities that will engage them. By using data and an equity lens we can prescribe Bronx residents and communities with physical activity that not only matches their interests, but helps to decrease health outcomes while increasing physical engagement.  

Cross-sector participation and engagement is crucial to decreasing the health disparities that exist in the Bronx.  We look to collaborate with: 

(1) Schools and organizations that do not see the connection between academic success and physical activity and instead focus program funding on academics or state testing tactics

(2) Government and nonprofit organizations who check the box with one off physical activity programs that lack the communities input and an understanding of how people connect with physical activity 

Our current numbers have been impacted by COVID-19.  

Thus far, we have served/partnered with:

• (1) Faith-Based organization
• (1) Community Health Organization and served (37) adults
• (22) rising seniors/first year college students  

In one year, through our programming we project serving and partnering with  

• (1) school with 195 youth (2 - 12 year olds) and 27 adults (staff)
• (1) Community Health Organization
• (1) Non-profit youth development organization
• (250) adults through virtual physical activity programming

In 5 years, through our programming we project serving and partnering with

• (10) schools/up to 2,000 Bronx youth
• (2) government programs
• (2) community health organizations
• (3) non-profits
• (1,200) adults

If our work is successful, the Bronx will no longer be known for being number 62.  Instead, there will be an increase in physical activity engagement and a decrease in health outcomes and disparities of Bronx residents, through targeted physical activity programming.  In the next 5 years, I envision people from the Bronx showing up and showing out through a series of competitive fitness initiatives, that allow residents to showcase pride for their Bronx community.  There will be increased grassroots initiatives of physical activity programming that will have access to evaluation tools to help them measure the impact of their programs in the respective communities they are servicing. Individuals and families will feel safe participating in physical activity in structured environments such as parks, open spaces and recreational spaces. People will have access to a virtual multi-lingual hub that provides resources and access to physical activity programs and services in and around their Bronx community. Cross-sector participation and engagement will also increase, allowing for the creation of sustainable physical activity programming tailored to the social, cultural and physical disparities of communities with high percentages of health outcomes and low percentages of physical activity.  

We are currently partnering with Youth Empowerment Summit (YES), Bronx Bound Books, Bronx Health Reach, The Bronx Learning Lounge, sharED Talent, Communitas America, Word of Life and Metropolitan Montessori School.

Equity Design is a business to business, value service business, we have (3) customer offerings to support our customer’s needs, Program Design, Professional Development and Health Equity Assessment Reports.  

We understand that not everyone has a positive and healthy connection to physical activity. Which is why we dispel the no pain no gain attitude and camouflage fitness with fun engaging programming activities, customized to combat the specific health disparities and inequities in each community.

Our target market is made up of 130 Bronx-based organizations (non-profit, community health), 430 Bronx public and charter schools, public sector (federal, state and local agencies such as the Office of Minority Health and Department of Youth) and health insurance companies looking to reduce risks and costs and increase visibility and preventive care using physical activity programming. 

What we gathered from our market research was that Bronx based organizations resort to a check the box approach because they do not have the time to design and evaluate a physical activity program that directly impacts the health of a community.   

A typical school in the Bronx is co-located with 2-3 other schools, making active learning space scarce and physical activity rare. In addition, subject teachers are being asked to teach Physical Education and lead Recess sessions.  While they may theoretically understand the importance of physical activity, they lack the training on how to facilitate and create a safe and inclusive physical activity environment in a limited space.

Equity Design is a business to business, value service business, we have (3) customer offerings to support our customer’s needs, Program Design, Professional Development and Health Equity Assessment Reports.  

We understand that not everyone has a positive and healthy connection to physical activity. Which is why we dispel the no pain no gain attitude and camouflage fitness with fun engaging programming activities, customized to combat the specific health disparities and inequities in each community.

Our target market is made up of 130 Bronx-based organizations (non-profit, community health), 430 Bronx public and charter schools, public sector (federal, state and local agencies such as the Office of Minority Health and Department of Youth) and health insurance companies looking to reduce risks and costs and increase visibility and preventive care using physical activity programming. 

What we gathered from our market research was that Bronx based organizations resort to a check the box approach because they do not have the time to design and evaluate a physical activity program that directly impacts the health of a community.   

 A typical school in the Bronx is co-located with 2-3 other schools, making active learning space scarce and physical activity rare. In addition, subject teachers are being asked to teach Physical Education and lead Recess sessions.  While they may theoretically understand the importance of physical activity, they lack the training on how to facilitate and create a safe and inclusive physical activity environment in a limited space.

In January, 2020, I was awarded $5,000.00 in a grant, as a part of a social entrepreneur pitch competition from Communitas America in the Bronx, NY.

In July 2020, awarded $16,000, by YES/Summer Youth Employment, along with four other women of color social entrepreneurs to mentor 16 NYC rising high school senior and first-year college students virtually for the Summer.