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Adewale Desalu, Software Engineering Manager, Nike, and International Nonprofit Founder

Programming Support for Health

As a child growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, Adewale “Wale” Desalu (ENG 2014) certainly knew the Nike brand, but never expected to build a career as a software engineer manager there. After majoring in electrical and computer engineering with an additional major of biomedical engineering at Carnegie Mellon, his path led him to work on mobile apps that complement the shoes he grew up admiring.

“Nike got into the wearables space — fitting my interests in both tech and health,” he says.

After graduation in 2014, there were two unexpected changes for Wale.

First, Nike pivoted from focusing on fitness wearables to mobile apps. Wale worked on the Nike Run Club and Nike Training Club app. These apps enable users to track a run, take workout classes and access coaching content. The result is a flexible approach to better habits and health.

“My aunt in Uganda uses the running app to go on walks,” Wale says. “It’s really fulfilling to be forward facing with consumers starting with my family, and see how this app influences their lives.”

Secondly, Wale’s father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2014. Forming a team of caregivers around his father, Wale was directly involved in the Parkinson’s caregiving space until his father passed in 2019.

In 2022, Wale and his family set up a holistic non-clinical center to support patients and families living with Parkinson’s disease in Nigeria.

“Limited awareness of neurodegenerative diseases in Nigeria made this a big challenge. For such symptoms, people often turn to religion or alternative medicine for solutions. We used our journey with medical care to create a nonprofit raising awareness of Parkinson’s in Nigeria,” he says.

The Adewunmi Desalu Parkinson’s Foundation (ADPF) is a nonprofit that provides a low-impact gym facility, physiotherapy, dancing and boxing therapy, writing classes, speech therapy and support groups. ADPF partners with local hospitals to access neurological care while assisting indigent members in obtaining much-needed medication at no cost to them.

“Our main goal is to create a support system for people with Parkinson’s and their caregivers,” he says. “We help people with Parkinson’s understand what is changing, find their autonomy and fight the feeling of helplessness in order to live much fuller lives.”

Story by Elizabeth Speed