Student Spotlight: Kasey Diffie

Earlier this year, we celebrated the September 2025 FMCA Community Impact Scholarship recipients—individuals committed to transforming the health of their communities through functional medicine health coaching. Thanks to the partnership between the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy, the Institute for Functional Medicine, and generous support from VoLo Foundation, these scholarships provide full tuition for our September 2025 Health Coach Certification Program. Today, we’re thrilled to spotlight Kasey Diffie, an Austin-based urban farmer whose journey into health coaching was born out of personal healing and a passion for nourishing others—body and soul.

“I can just come to the farmers market and be of service at the booth, offering donation-based health coaching—just to start putting myself out there and sharing the healing experience I’ve had with others.”

Kasey Diffie, incoming FMCA student

Kasey’s interest in health began more than a decade ago when she discovered the work of Dr. Mark Hyman and began exploring functional medicine. But it was a tick bite—and a long journey of unresolved symptoms—that brought her firsthand experience with the power of root-cause care. After years of not getting the help she needed, she began working with a functional medicine nurse practitioner and finally started to see improvement. That healing transformation deepened her desire to help others and led her to FMCA, where she could pair her passion for wellness with professional training and support.

Alongside her husband, Kasey runs an urban farm and compost hauling business. She’s also the founder of Cool Greens, a line of dehydrated microgreen powders created under Texas cottage food law. Her plan is to integrate health coaching into the work she already does—starting with offering donation-based coaching at local farmers markets, where she regularly connects with people looking for healing through food. With new energy and a renewed sense of purpose, Kasey is ready to serve her community in deeper, more personalized ways.

Watch the Interview

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

About VoLo Foundation

VoLo Foundation is a private nonprofit organization with a mission “to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health” and a vision for a “planet where all beings are ensured access to a sustainable and clean environment, health services, and education.”

Transcript

Dr. Sandi: I love to hear how you found functional medicine and what drew you to want to become a functional medicine certified health coach.

Kasey: Awesome. Yeah. So, many years ago, I want to say maybe 10 years ago or so, I discovered Dr. Mark Hyman and just really started following along and learning so much from him. I think that’s the beginning of my functional medicine journey and knowledge. And I had just taken an interest in health for many, many years. I was just on a health journey and more of a optimum health, like just eating the right foods and moving the body, doing yoga.

And then about three and a half years ago, I got bit by a tick here in Texas. And it’s so rare here that of course it got overlooked, and I should have gone straight to functional medicine. But I just had my own journey with it. Make a long story short, here in the last six months, I’ve been seeing a functional medicine nurse practitioner. And really in that six months, my healing just rapidly started to get better. I was really getting the treatment that I needed. So, it’s been a firsthand experience of what didn’t work and what works for me and worked in my healing journey.

Dr. Sandi: Yeah. What drew you to FMCA?

Kasey: Well, when I was… This was a while back that I was interested in health coaching, and I was doing my research. And, again, Mark Hyman recommends it. The fact that it’s paired with the Functional Medicine Institute and partners with them, I really feel that the credential is in alignment with what I want to be doing, working with doctors and people one-on-one on their healing journey. It just seemed like the right fit.

Dr. Sandi: You have a very interesting background and what you’re currently doing.

Kasey: Yes. So, right now, my husband and I own an urban farm in East Austin. We also have a compost hauling business. So, it was actually founded by him as a compost business. As he started to generate compost, he thought, “Man, I should really grow food.” And then shortly after, he started the food part of the farm. We came together and it was just, kind of, really a match made in heaven. We were meant to be business partners and start a family. And that’s exactly what happened. So, we’ve been doing that for eight years. And a few years back, I started Cool Greens, which is our product line of dehydrated microgreen powders. And it’s a part of the business I’m really looking forward to now that I’m feeling better and have the energy to build. Right now, we’re creating it under cottage food law, so we have to keep it local within Texas. But, yeah, I look to expand that where we can ship all over the place.

Dr. Sandi: So, dehydrated microgreens, that’s a powder. That’s really cool.

Kasey: Yes, it is because you could really just put it in your smoothies. I like it on eggs, on porridge, whatever. You’re just adding wonderful micronutrients in whatever you eat. And it’s good for kids, too. You sneak it in their food, and they don’t even know.

Dr. Sandi: Yeah, yeah. I love that. I used to do that when my kids were young. I would mix it in soups and some shakes and they never knew what was in there. Yeah, we are really looking forward to having you join our functional medicine community. The world needs millions more health coaches, and you will be helping so many people. The ripple effect of what you will be doing will be so great. I was really moved by the ideas that you had, like expanding what you’re already doing to include health coaching, educating people in places like farmers markets.

Kasey: Mm-hmm, absolutely. I look to start that really in the next couple of weeks. I’m feeling ready. I’ve got some work to do beforehand, but just to start putting myself out there and having those conversations where before, for the last many years when I work at farmers market, they come there for the microgreens because it’s either recommended by their nutritionist or doctor or whatever, and they end up having a health story. And so I would step outside the booth and talk to them. That’s really what sparked the idea of, wow, I can just come here and be of service at the booth and offer donation-based health coaching just to start to get that experience and share that experience with the clients. So, I’m looking forward to that very soon.

Dr. Sandi: I love that. We will be following your journey, and I hope that those who are listening will be inspired to also become functional medicine certified health coaches because the need is so great. There are just so many people who are suffering. The incidence of chronic disease as we all know has risen dramatically, but we can make a difference.

Kasey: Absolutely.

Dr. Sandi: Well, again, welcome and congratulations on being a scholarship recipient, and anything that you need along the way, we’re here. There’ll be orientation. There will be meet and greets where you will be meeting others for the incoming September class.

Kasey: Awesome. Thank you so much.

Dr. Sandi: Well, thank you. It was a pleasure to talk with you.

Kasey: Absolutely. Thank you.

Dr. Sandi: Bye now.

Kasey: Bye-bye.