About Coach Dee
Hi, I'm Deona L. Hatley.
Most people call me Dee.
I've been bringing movement to the people around me for my whole career, usually in places that weren't built for it. It took me years to notice the thread running through every job. Now I've built a business on it.
14+ years, four universities
The thread through every job.
Brought group fitness into residential life and helped design the fitness center for campus apartments.
Built out the residence hall fitness center and connected students to boutique studios across the city.
Tied wellness to academic success through classroom workshops and virtual movement sessions.
Led campus fitness and wellness department, helped secure funding to make group fitness free, and built a new functional training space.
The question that started it
"What's stopping you from moving for ten minutes?"
In 2019, a time audit showed I had almost two hours free on my busiest day. Then a trainer in Philadelphia asked me that question, and I didn’t have a good answer. That conversation started the habit that helped me lose 55 pounds, and it has shaped how I coach ever since.
I admit, I don’t always eat perfectly or get all the sleep I need. What I decided years ago is that movement stays in my life no matter how busy it gets. Some days that’s a heavy lift. Some days it’s a ten minute walk before work. Both count.
How Move First began
It started with my own comeback.
While I was in physical therapy for hip pain, I started step challenges with my Executive MBA cohort to stay consistent. Those challenges grew into GU Moves, and the community that kept going after graduation became Move First.
I’ve carried this habit through more than 30 states and 12 countries, from Senegal, Nigeria, and Ghana to Spain, Vietnam, and Thailand, and across the Caribbean. A packed workday, a new city, a different time zone, and there are still ten minutes. Move First shares that with everyone: every month we virtually travel to a new region of the world and move together from wherever we are.
Where it comes from
My mom studied business. My dad built one.
My mom became an accountant and spent her days at a desk. When I was young, I went to the gym with her, but as work got more stressful, the workouts slipped away. My dad built a flower delivery business that kept him on his feet, walking and lifting all day. Same family, two very different workdays, and over the years I’ve watched that difference show up in their health.
That’s the lesson I carry into every program: movement has to live inside the day you already have, workday included. DLH Coaching is built on it. The letters are my initials, and they stand for what I care about most: Developing Lifelong Habits.
Certifications | ACE Fitness
- Group Fitness Instructor
- Health Coach
- Personal Trainer
Additional training
- Yoga Instructor
200-Hour, Yoga Renew - Indoor Cycling Instructor
Spinning, Mad Dogg Athletics
EMBA, Graduation Day
Education
- Executive MBA
Georgetown University - M.A., Student Affairs Administration
Ball State University - B.S., Broadcast Journalism
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Every day has ten minutes.
Let's build from there.
Bring that idea to your team, your congregation, or your next event.
Book a free 30 minute callOr email coachingwithdlh@gmail.com