Student Spotlight: Debra Lewis

Today, we are honored to introduce Debra Lewis, a community advocate in Tulsa, Oklahoma, whose path to functional medicine was paved by her own healing journey. After years of struggling with obesity, Debra shifted her perspective from weight loss to holistic restoration. By addressing the root causes of her inflammation, specifically stress management and gut health, she lost nearly 100 pounds in less than six months. More importantly, she discovered a level of vitality she had never felt before, sparking a deep desire to share these life-changing tools with others.

“Functional medicine should not be tied to zip code or status. It should be something that’s open to everyone. And hopefully I can bridge that gap as I move forward through this program.”

Debra Lewis, March 2026 FMCA Student

Now settled in Tulsa’s historic Greenwood district, Debra is dedicated to serving as a voice for the voiceless. She currently works with local nonprofits and advocacy organizations like Justice for Greenwood and the Terence Crutcher Foundation, identifying gaps in care within underserved populations. In an area classified as a food desert and lacking local clinics, Debra sees her FMCA training as the key to bridging the gap between clinical prescriptions and sustainable lifestyle change. Her mission is to provide culturally sensitive coaching that empowers her community to heal from within, ensuring that wellness is accessible to everyone, regardless of status or location.

Watch the Interview

Watch Debra’s Student Spotlight interview with Dr. Sandi here.

Transcript

Dr. Sandi: So, I am so excited to be with you, Debra. First, I want to congratulate you on being one of our scholarship recipients. And I’d love to have you talk about how you came to FMCA. What was the impetus? What would you want to train with us to become a health coach?

Debra: Okay. First, I want to say thank you to you and the committee for selecting me. I am so grateful and thankful, and I have to pinch myself every day, knowing that I will be a part of this community. So, for me, it is personal. I have dealt with obesity, gosh, for years, and dealing with weight loss. And on the journey that I went on this time, instead of terming it a weight loss journey, it was a healing journey.

So, I took the time out to… Well, my doctor asked me, “What do you really think it is?” And I said, “I think it is the way I handle stress.” And I started reading more into that and doing more research on ways to not just lose weight but also heal my body from inflammation, eating more whole foods, being very intentional about curing and, I don’t know, healing that thing within me that was causing me to gain weight and retain weight.

And so, yes, I went on that journey, and I started just focusing on gut healing. Again, eating healthy food, ways of reducing my stress with meditation, journaling, so just going in that route. And I documented it and took pictures along the way. And I realized once I completed, you know, it took me six months to a little less than six months to lose close to 100 pounds, not so much focusing on weight but healing.

And I felt like, you know, “There is something to this. It’s the best I have ever felt, and I want to share this with other people.” Again, I documented it, but I am like, “Well, where can I go and how can I extend this to others?” And so, after doing research, I found FMCA and thought, you know, “This is where I am supposed to be, and this is where I can make that connection with other people who may be having the same struggle that I had with weight.” And so that’s how I got here.

Dr. Sandi: Yeah. Well, what an inspiring story. And I know that you’re going to go on and use your training to really help so many people. Can you tell us what your current work is, the community you currently serve, and what you hope to do with your training?

Debra: So, I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and how I got here to Tulsa was through the Tulsa Remote Program, which is the program that pays people or remote workers $10,000, to move to the community. And I was very intentional in coming here. I wanted to live on Greenwood, historical Greenwood, where the 1921 massacres took place, which was very unfortunate.

But being here, I thought, “You know what? I want to be intentional not only about where I live, but the community I build.” And so I started volunteering with all of the different organizations that were here that were connected to that community, Justice for Greenwood, Terence Crutcher Foundation. And so through those programs, I got connected to the community and just understanding what were the issues and some of the concerns in the community.

So, that is the work I have been doing. And again, with the Tulsa Remote Program, the community that has been built just by being a part of that program and meeting people from all walks of life and all different types of professions has given me, you know, a different outlook, so to speak. I see it as my second act.

So, I came from higher education and now working in nonprofits with, you know, grant writing and also, again, working with communities, underserved communities, and providing resources that will help them to, you know, be productive citizens and do great things and where there’s gaps. So, that is also what I found in working and volunteering with different organizations here, is seeing where the gaps were in the community.

One of the things, living on Greenwood when I first got here, there was a clinic up the street that has now closed because they lost their funding. And also this area is a food desert. And so just looking at that and being in the community and being intentional about that, my thought was, “How can I be of help? What can I do?” And again, aligning myself with different organizations, nonprofits here, and volunteering and also working in those organizations as well to lend my expertise and just being understanding about where these people are coming from and giving a voice to the voiceless within these communities.

Dr. Sandi: Wow. Yeah. And I really can see your FMCA training fitting right in to be able to go on to further help this community.

Debra: Yes, definitely. I think that, you know, there is such a distrust among these populations in, you know, the medical community for various reasons. And I think that, you know, offering culturally sensitive and coming from a coaching standpoint, opposed to a prescription standpoint, because you hear so many people talking about, “I’m on this medication.” Even me, I’ve fallen victim to that, being placed on so many different medications through my weight loss journey and realizing, “You know what? It really was not about those different medications or the prescriptions. It is really just killing my body within,” and being able to share that with others, again, is exciting to me.

But yeah, just losing the clinic and then being in a food desert, you know, people don’t have access. Underserved populations don’t have access. And I think that functional medicine, it should not be tied to zip code or status. It should be something that’s open to everyone. And hopefully I can bridge that gap as I move forward through this program.

Dr. Sandi: Wow, that is so profound. I love that. It gives me goosebumps because I just pictured you going out there after you graduate and really making a difference, helping thousands of people create health. And I saw that in you when I read your application. I just felt that it came through. What a huge difference you are going to make in this world. And we need functional medicine certified health coaches so badly going out to their communities and really helping people see that change is possible and facilitating that process.

So, I can’t wait for you to start in March. And I want you to come to my office hours. I am always available. I have an open door. And you will find that this is a community where you will feel part of from the get go. And so I am excited for getting to know you further and for your journey with us.

Debra: Thank you. And again, I am so appreciative of this opportunity, and what is to come, and again, being a part of change and solution here within the community that I reside in.

Dr. Sandi: So beautiful. Absolutely.