In this episode, we explore the work behind Equity Design, a social-purpose-focused venture that uses physical activity to help change lives and shape behaviors. Investing in the health of underserved communities through the design of physical activity programs using data and an equity lens, Equity Design aims to shorten the gap between health, wealth, and life expectancy. Host Monique T. Marshall speaks with founder Maurelhena Walles about what it means to build a venture that collaborates with institutions, leaders, and community stakeholders to confront inequities and imagine new ways of working together. Hear how Equity Design moves beyond intention toward meaningful structural change through facilitation, strategy development, and design-centered processes. This thoughtful conversation highlights the importance of listening to community voices and the powerful role entrepreneurs can play in effecting cultural change and empowerment.

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​​Maurelhena Walles, is the Founder and CEO of Equity Design, a social enterprise that invests in closing the gap that exists between health and wealth by using data and an equity lens to drive the design of sustainable physical activity programming. Her personal narrative from NYC schoolyard tag champion to representing the United States and becoming both World Champion and World and National Record Holder as a part of the World Masters Athletics Championship, dictated her professional journey of creating healthier lives for under-resourced communities through the design of sustainable physical activity programming. She uses her expertise in instructional design to design physical activity programs that address the specific health needs of underserved communities. She believes that good results are worth the time it takes to plan them. Her strength on the track is synonymous with her drive and persistence off the track. She still maintains a rigorous training and competitive schedule, while balancing family and her passion for using physical activity as a tool to educate and empower.

In this episode, we step inside the vision behind the International Salsa Museum, a grand cultural project dedicated to preserving the history, rhythm, and global impact of salsa music. Host Monique T. Marshall speaks with co-founder Willy Rodriguez about what it means to build a museum before the building exists. From pop-up exhibitions to community collaborations, we will hear about how the museum is already alive — fueled by urgency, legacy, and love for music and community. Listen to this conversational exploration of the evolution of salsa in New York, the responsibility of honoring those who came before, and the importance of creating pathways for the next generation. Enjoy this powerful conversation about cultural preservation, collective memory, and the transformative force of music.

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Willy Rodriguez, is a professional pianist, musical director, producer, CEO of The Valens Agency, and Co-Founder of the International Salsa Museum. Mr. Rodriguez has been involved in the entertainment industry since he was 15. He has been the musical director of the Tito Puente Jr Orchestra since he was 19 years old and has traveled worldwide, performing in front of thousands of people with his Latin band La Excelencia.

Willy Rodriguez has performed for former President Bill Clinton, former First Lady Hillary Clinton, and former Presidents of the Dominican Republic Leonel Fernandez and Hipolito Mejia. He has also shared the stage with artists such as the late great Celia Cruz, Juan Luis Guerra, Lauryn Hill, Sade, George Clinton, The Gypsy Kings, Oscar De Leon, Tito Nieves, and Jose Alberto "El Canario." He has worked as a producer/musician with artists such as Bruno Mars, Dafina Zeqiri, and French Montana, to name just a few.

In 2012 a salsa tour through Haiti changed his life forever. While in Haiti, he realized that no matter how bad a person's situation can be, music can heal people and for a moment inspire and empower someone or completely change their life. Soon after his tour in Haiti, he started a boutique entertainment agency named The Valens Agency. The Valens Agency offers booking services, management, artist consultation, stage management, and music production to established and upcoming artists, small businesses, and corporations. Through his company, Mr. Rodriguez has been able to develop relationships and has worked with organizations such as the New York Yankees, ESPN, Linkedin, Brooklyn Nets, Jazz at Lincoln Center, A&E Networks, and other major organizations.

Lastly, between 2020 and 2021, Mr. Rodriguez became a voting member of the National Recording Academy and Co-Chairman of the Latin Music Task Force for the New York Chapter. Aside from that Mr. Rodriguez was introduced to a major opportunity that would change his life. This major opportunity led Mr. Rodriguez to become the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the International Salsa Museum. He has stated to various media outlets, "I feel like all my dreams are becoming true at the same time with the creation of the Salsa Museum. My passion for music and community is going to shine through this museum and now I get to give back the way I have always wanted to give back." Since creating the International Salsa Museum, Mr. Rodriguez has been featured in Rolling Stones Magazine, Billboard Magazine, Grammy.com, Telemundo, Univision, NBC 4 News, NPR, and other major news outlets. He has also developed relationships with Meta, Google Arts and Culture, Paramount, Gracie Mansion Conservatory, The Smithsonian, and other major organizations that align with his vision of a Salsa Museum in New York City.

Willy Rodriguez has been able to experience the world in a way that has opened his mind and spirit in more ways than one. As CEO of The Valens Agency and Co-Founder of the International Salsa Museum, Mr. Rodriguez plans to shine a light on the lack of Music Education, and various cultures that are not being seen or heard and be a role model for the youth, not only in the United States but around the world.

In this episode, we find out how we can address food insecurity at individual, family, and community levels. What happens when we start to pay attention to how things grow? What are the positive impacts that occur when we come together in a community to create and scale up autonomous, self-sufficient food systems? Host Monique T. Marshall speaks with Samia (Sam) Lemfadli, founder of Change Food for Good. What happens when we approach issues of food inequity and lack of access with a collectivist mindset? Find out about the potential that is unlocked when we realize, "we have everything we need at our disposal, and what we don't have we can figure out within community."

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Samia Lemfadli is a Brooklyn native and technologist with a deep-rooted passion for sustainable agriculture. As an alumnus of programs like General Assembly's Web Development Immersive and Platform by Per Scholas, she has leveraged her technical and business development skills to improve workforce strategies and advance technical infrastructure for organizations like MIT Civic Media Lab, The Knowledge House , Per Scholas, New York Maritime Innovation Center, Kilimanjaro Initiative USA, and JobsFirstNYC. Samia has applied her lived experience of the workforce development system to secure more than 500 job placements for program alumni and her community network. She remains a fierce advocate for young adult economic mobility. She believes workforce development and inclusive technology advances can be key levers for self-determination and more resilient communities. She was selected for Hunter College's 2025 40 under 40 Rising Stars in Food Policy Award, Claniel Foundation's 2022 Emerging Leaders Fund, was a 2020 Echoing Green Semi-Finalist, Head of the Junior Board for Kilimanjaro Initiative USA and served as Co-Chair for the Yes Bed-Stuy Partnership.

The founders of FoodStream Network join host Monique T. Marshall in conversation. Richard Cumming and Johanna Salazar discuss designing infrastructure that promote food knowledge and connection within communities experiencing food insecurity, as well as amongst organizations that can play a key role in dealing with food surplus. Join us as we discuss FoodStream's strategies based on their Connect, Learn, and Delivery products; and their ultimate goal of building a better food system. How can a venture meet stakeholders where they are? What does it mean to operate with the quadruple bottom line of "profit, people, planet, process"? Listen and find out what happens when founders work with the mindsets that "everything is possible" and that "when you put community first, the rest will come."

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Richard Cumming is a creative technologist and brand strategist committed to building solutions that drive social change. As Founder of FoodStream, he applies his background in brand marketing and creative campaigns to design digital infrastructure that addresses hunger and strengthens community networks. With a career rooted in innovation and storytelling, Rich helps turn mission into momentum, forging strategic pathways that help organizations connect, grow, and feed more people through tech-enabled collaboration.

Johanna Salazar is a media executive, technologist, and social impact innovator with over 20 years of experience building and scaling platforms at the intersection of content, technology, and community. As Co-Founder of FoodStream, she leads operations, partnerships, and business development to deliver digital tools that empower nonprofits and reduce food insecurity. Drawing from a career that spans Viacom, Paramount, Cirque du Soleil, and AppleTV, Johanna blends entrepreneurial rigor with a deep commitment to equity, helping communities unlock the power of technology to solve urgent challenges.

Collaboration connotes people working together, but people don't work together in a vacuum. On this episode of Communitas of New York, we hear Kashon DuBose, the founder of Cultivators; and Renee Keitt, the co-founder of KBM Spices and Things. In conversation with host Monique T. Marshall, the two founders discuss what it means to have a relationship with a community through having a relationship with the land, to seek knowledge from the past and from our surroundings, and to internalize and share that knowledge ourselves. How is collaboration a natural function of our human need to be in community? Indeed, can we grow without being in a collaborative mode? How does impact measurement go beyond the realm of the quantitative, especially when in the mindset that we are all sharing the same planet and the same air? Join us for this enlightening conversation.

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Visit Kelly Street Garden.

Kashon DuBose is the founder of Cultivators, a Bronx-based nonprofit that uses green spaces as pathways to healing, resilience, and community. Rooted in his own lived experience, Kashon created Cultivators to bridge the gap between underserved urban communities and the restorative power of nature.

Through hands-on projects—like tree pit restorations, terrarium workshops, and rain garden stewardship—Cultivators empowers youth and families to see green spaces not just as patches of land, but as safe, healing environments. Under Kashon's leadership, the organization has engaged hundreds of community members in sustainability and mental health initiatives, while sparking conversations about how access to nature is an equity issue.

Kashon has shared his work on platforms like the Children & Nature Network Conference and BronxNet TV, continuing to advocate for mental health, environmental stewardship, and the transformative role of community care. His vision is simple but powerful: to cultivate both the land and the people, reminding us that when we nurture the earth, we nurture ourselves.

Renee Keitt is a co-founder of KBM Spices and Things, a woman-and non-binary-led BIPOC worker-owned cooperative based in the Bronx. She is a grower, seed saver, and master composter who manages the Kelly Street Garden and a member of various gardens in East Harlem and the Bronx. Renee is a graduate of Farm School NYC and studied at CUNY's School of Labor and Urban Studies; she works at the intersection of food, housing, nature, and the built environment, sharing collective wisdom to nourish and empower. KBM Spices and Things creates plant-based, culturally rooted food, health, and wellness products that draw on traditional medicine to support community healing.

In this episode, we find out all about constructing platforms and spaces—the kinds of platforms and spaces built to foster literacy, to create the opportunity to be seen, to nurture a sense of collectivity, to elevate the voices of those in the community. Rina Madhani is the founder of Start Lighthouse and Amira Mustapha is the founder of Art Defined. In this conversation with host Monique T. Marshall, these collaborators and thought partners discuss the reality checks that emerge when running a non-profit, the importance of building a strong board, and recognizing the potential of spaces and communities that can be revitalized through passion and love. How does one combat the loneliness of being an entrepreneur? What does it take to move forward in challenging times and how can having a collaborative thinking partner create a sense of fortitude? Join us to find out how these entrepreneurs are creating "riches in the niches."

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Rina Madhani is a passionate educator, nonprofit leader, and community advocate whose career has been shaped by a deep commitment to literacy and equity. Her journey began with AmeriCorps, where she discovered a love for service that led her to the classroom in the Bronx. Teaching across both public and charter schools, Rina witnessed the systemic challenges students faced—experiences that ultimately inspired her to take action.

In the midst of the pandemic, she founded Start Lighthouse, a literacy nonprofit dedicated to restoring access to books and culturally responsive reading experiences in historically underserved communities. Under her leadership, the organization has expanded to eight school sites across New York City, secured significant federal funding, and built powerful partnerships with institutions and changemakers such as Columbia University's Center for Public Research and Leadership, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Assemblymember Amanda Septimo.

Rina holds a BA from New York University and an MSEd from the University of Pennsylvania. She serves as a founding board member of Arts Defined in the Bronx and has held leadership roles in both the Penn and NYU communities, including Chair of Community Engagement and Philanthropy, GSE Liaison, and mentor across multiple academic and service programs.

Amira Mustapha is a Ghanaian-American Bronx-based artist, having founded Art Defined, because she wanted to create a platform for artists to explore, create, develop, and see their work come to life.

She has developed successful programs within her organization, like Poetic Affair, an open mic. In addition, Amira is looking to create a mentorship program where artists will be able to grow and prosper.

Since 2013, Amira has received multiple Community Arts Fund Grants from the Bronx Council on the Art, and since 2014, she has garnered annual support from the "nation's largest nonprofit organization serving creative writers," Poets and Writers, Inc. In 2019, Amira was presented with the Bharati Foundation Leadership Award for her service, dedication, and commitment to the art community.

Olga Baez is the founder of StriveHigher, Inc., which includes the Kids Building Wealth initiative; and Olga Perez is the founder of MVP Lifeguards and MVP Swimmers. What is the bridge between a venture that fosters early literacy and financial education; and one that aims to create very proficient swimmers and make the water sport accessible to all? It is community engagement! Hear how these two founders planted the seed of collaboration and began to grow shoots and roots that increased their Bronx-focused ventures' potential exponentially! In this meaningful conversation with host Monique T. Marshall, the two founders discuss filling in gaps in resources for underserved communities, the necessity of improvisation and pivoting when doors close (and others open), and the synergy created when businesses create intentional impact across sectors, hyperlocally.

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Visit StriveHigher, Inc. and Kids Building Wealth.

Visit MVP Swimmers.

Olga Baez

StriveHigher Inc. is a Bronx-based nonprofit dedicated to empowering underserved students and their families through early literacy, financial education, and community engagement. Serving children from kindergarten through middle school, our mission is to equip young people with the tools to read with confidence, manage money wisely, and imagine brighter futures. Through our Kids Building Wealth initiative, students learn the fundamentals of saving, budgeting, and entrepreneurship in fun, age-appropriate ways- many even open their first savings accounts or launch small business projects. By starting early and working together with schools and families, we're building a generation of confident readers, smart savers, and future leaders in the heart of the Bronx.

Olga Perez

At MVP Swimmers, our mission is to make very proficient swimmers, one stroke at a time! We provide low-cost, high quality swimming lessons to underserved communities, ensuring every child has the opportunity to learn the life-saving skill of swimming. We are dedicated to promoting water safety, building confidence, and inspiring a love for swimming through fun and engaging lessons. By making swimming accessible to all, we aim to create a safer, healthier, and more inclusive community.

Andrea Augustus of Poetic Black Gurl LLC, Ibrahima "Ibro" Badji of Good Vibes, and Amber Peters of On Track With Mizz P. are linked through their venture activities in the education, creative arts, and college access realms, all working in their own unique ways to empower students, families, and educators. In conversation with host Monique T. Marshall, these dynamic "business besties" share how they amplify their power and elevate their intentions through collaboration. How can an entrepreneur handle gatekeepers? How can one find and navigate resources? How to manage time? How to find your "why"? We tackle these questions and more in our joyful conversation.

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Visit Poetic Black Gurl, LLC.

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Visit On Track With Mizz P.

Andrea Augustus

is the founder of Poetic Black Gurl LLC, an MWBE-certified consulting firm that delivers culturally relevant wellness and professional development programs across NYC. With a background in youth development and creative arts, Andrea creates transformative workshops that empower students, families, and educators through storytelling, healing, and skill-building.

Ibrahima Badji

is the founder of Good Vibes, an innovative college and career pathway program focused on individualized support and access to financial aid. We have served more than 2,000 students and 90% of our students go to college debt free. We at good vibes believe in creating ripples of change that not only impact individual lives but entire communities.

As the founder of Good Vibes, my journey is a testament to resilience, vision, and the transformative power of education. I am a first-generation student from a low-income background who navigated through the Higher Educational Opportunity Program (HEOP). Good Vibes is not just an organization I founded; it is a part of who I am. I often refer to myself as the 'Robin Hood of College Access' because my mission is to provide financial freedom and college access to students in need.

My days are a continuous cycle of passion and purpose. By morning, I am at the forefront of college access and entrepreneurship with Good Vibes, and by night, I continue my commitment through my day job as the stage manager at the New York City Football Club, a professional soccer team.

Amber Peters,

founder of On Track With Mizz P. turns the chaos of college planning into clear, affordable plans. This proud Bronxite has spent the last decade helping thousands plan smart, pay less, and succeed beyond high school, making college accessible and attainable for families everywhere.

Marcellis Counts, founder of Apian Industry and André Ware, co-founder & executive director of Bee U NYC, converse with host Monique T. Marshall about their involvement in apiculture-centered entrepreneurship. Hear about the burgeoning collaboration between founders, one from a for-profit venture based on cultivation of strong connections to the land, improvement of the quality of life of residents through development of healing centers elevating beekeeping and farming; and the other a non-profit venture focusing on experiential education, engaging urban communities through hands-on training in beekeeping, leadership, and environmental advocacy. Listen and find out how these entrepreneurs' involvement in apiculture present opportunities for a cultural shift in urban spaces, and how, together, these entrepreneurs deal with the fact that entrepreneurship is about doing things for the first time, very often.

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Marcellis Counts

My name is Marcellis Counts, founder of Apiary in the Sky, LLC (now Apian Industry), and graduate of Seton Hall University, where I studied Social Work. As a lifelong student, throughout my career, I have always had a passion for helping people solve problems. Entrepreneurship has taught me the importance of helping oneself before successfully helping others. Starting a business has been a defining moment for me because no matter how far I go in life, there is always more to learn. I consider myself fortunate to have cultivated a strong connection to the land, all of its creatures, and I look forward to the future of discovery and innovation that is yet to come. Being raised in Newark, NJ, I believe that more people should have an opportunity to experience the benefits of nature and live safe, happy, and productive lives free of stress and anxiety.

André Ware

André Ware is the Co-Founder & Executive Director of Bee U NYC, a non-profit organization that engages urban communities through beekeeping and environmental advocacy. Born and raised in Brooklyn, André developed a passion for experiential education after traveling to Chile and Kenya as a high school student, later serving in the Peace Corps in Ukraine, supporting Internally Displaced people. He has managed and directed programs across several non-profits, including Global Glimpse, the Center for Justice Innovation, and Global Kids, and is committed to education reform that centers youth experiences beyond the classroom. André holds a BA in Political Science and International Studies from Niagara University and an MPA in Social and Political Advocacy from NYU's Wagner School.

Jessica Valencia, co-founder of and Head of Communications at UnlockNYC, is driving the women-led effort to provide direct services, data analysis, and advocacy in order to implement a power shift where landlords and brokers fear the social and financial costs of discriminating against voucher holders. Hear Jessica recount her personal story as she discusses with host Monique T. Marshall the challenges of teaching voucher holders with no safety net how to advocate for themselves, and the significance of "paying it forward." How does an entrepreneur engage in the balancing act of creating the right fit between a clear and strong mission and potential funders of all ilks?

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