Picture of health

When she was studying biology at Wright State University, Julie Bonsall had her sights set on medical school. But along the way she fell in love with personal training and began longing for a career helping people get healthy through diet and exercise.

Today, Bonsall is the employee wellness coordinator at the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority, an agency of 600 workers who operate 29 bus routes in the region.

Since Bonsall assumed the position in 2013, the wellness program has grown to include more than half of the workforce, the number of visits to the agency’s fitness center has doubled from 4,000 to 8,000 annually, and there has been such a drastic drop in health insurance claims that the RTA has now been able to self-fund its insurance program.

Wright State biology graduate Julie Bonsall ’12 leads a pioneering wellness program at the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority. (Photos by Will Jones)

“We’ve created something, and it really works well,” Bonsall said. “I think I’m changing the mindset here, changing the culture. When it comes to a wellness program in a company, it obviously does great stuff for the bottom line, but it also makes the employee feel so appreciated.”

Bonsall grew up in Franklin, Ohio. Her father was a carpenter, her mother taught at Franklin High School, and her brother is an U.S. Army Airborne Infantry Ranger.

“I was in every single sport that you can possibly imagine except cheerleading,” she said.

At age 14, the diminutive Bonsall was playing basketball at the city park with the boys, surprising opponents with her skills, which included being able to hit the occasional 3-pointer from half court. She would go on to play varsity basketball at Franklin High School.

Bonsall aspired to be a physician.

“I wanted to become a pediatrician that kids weren’t afraid of,” she said. “I focused on anatomy and physiology. I loved that stuff.”

Bonsall initially attended Wittenberg University, but it didn’t offer a focus that she wanted so she transferred to Wright State.

“Wright State has such a variety of things you can choose from,” she said. “And I loved the campus.”

As a biology graduate with a focus on exercise science, her education gave her the knowledge that would enable her to implement the successful wellness program at the RTA. The faculty also gave her just enough independence to develop her problem-solving skills.

“The stuff I learned at Wright State is not as important as the confidence that I gained from Wright State,” she said.

She also quickly learned that a biology degree was a perfect fit with a career in corporate wellness.

“When someone goes into a gym, they’ve already made the decision that they are going to change their lives,” she said. “When someone goes to work, they’re not thinking that. They’re not thinking ‘I’m going to get healthier when I go to work.’ So I thought I could really do something amazing here.”

At the RTA, Bonsall works with the agency’s benefits manager and family/medical leave office to improve employee health and drive down absenteeism and worker compensation claims.

Under Julie Bonsall’s leadership, the RTA’s wellness program has grown to include more than half of the workforce and the number of visits to the agency’s fitness center has doubled.

The biggest health issue among employees is high blood pressure.

“Can you imagine driving a million-dollar vehicle with 40 people in the back all screaming and yelling and having a good time while you have to concentrate on the road?” she said. “It’s a high-stress job.”

In addition to exercise classes, Bonsall has offered classes on how to prevent back injuries and how to reduce the risk of diabetes. To promote walking, she started the Fitbit program, which provides employees with pedometers for their wrists that track their steps. And yoga classes will soon be offered.

The RTA wellness program won a 2014 Healthy Ohio Worksite silver award from the Ohio Department of Health’s Healthy Ohio Business Council.

Victor Hall, an RTA utility mechanic, shed 50 pounds over 16 months exercising at the company’s fitness center, slimming down to 190. He calls Bonsall “a poodle with a pit-bull attitude.”

“Her knowledge and guidance is really the key. That’s really what helps us the most. She is a good motivator,” Hall said. “She changed my life and made it better.”