Our YMCA PHD (Physical, Healthy and Driven) Coach

Inez Edwards - Association Director of Youth Wellness

When it comes to unique wellness programming, no one has more exceptional ideas and concrete plans than Inez Edwards, the Association Director of Youth Wellness at the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington. Her wellness initiatives are extraordinary not just for their uniqueness but also for their results.

Inez has more than 30 years of professional experience in group exercise, personal training and wellness program development. Each day, she strives to inspire and motivate people who struggle to lead healthy lifestyles.

During her ten years at the YMCA in Los Angeles and the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington, Inez has developed wellness programs for people with severe weight issues, women, children and seniors.

When Inez joined the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington, she helped launch our signature youth wellness initiative, PHD (Physical, Healthy and Driven). Inez’s leadership and creativity have helped PHD grow into a nationally renowned program, which has had a profound impact on local youth wellness and is helping to combat childhood obesity. 

Our Running Coach

Bertha L. Cross - Certified Coach and Founder, Fitness Heights, International.

A certified coach with more than 12 years of experience in marathon racing and training, Bertha knows how to motivate others. She found her own inspiration in an unlikely place: her mother’s illness. Bertha’s mother was diagnosed with sarcoidosis, a disease that causes inflammation in various organs of the body. This debilitating disease has no cure and little is known about it.

When organizing her first marathon, Bertha knew she wanted to raise awareness and research dollars for sarcoidosis. She founded the Caribbean Sounds 5k and 10k races in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Los Angeles, Oakland and Chicago, all of which raise vital funds for research.

Most recently, Bertha has joined with the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington to help local children develop a passion for running. Training a new generation of marathoners is incredibly rewarding for Bertha, and she hopes that the YMCA kids will find the fulfillment that she herself has found in running.

A running expert, Bertha has appeared on NBC 4 to discuss safe running tips and marathon training.