Student Spotlight: Natasha Dillahunt

Today, we are honored to introduce Natasha, a postpartum doula, lactation counselor, and recipient of FMCA’s Community Impact Scholarship whose path to health coaching grew naturally from her work supporting families during some of life’s biggest transitions. While initially considering a master’s degree in social work, Natasha was introduced to functional medicine health coaching by a close friend and ER physician who was pursuing her own functional medicine training. She quickly saw how closely health coaching aligned with the holistic approach she already brings to her work with families. Through FMCA, Natasha hopes to deepen her knowledge and expand her impact, helping parents look beyond the immediate demands of pregnancy, postpartum, and infant care to consider the many factors that support the health and well-being of the entire family.

“Functional medicine is so needed. Our healthcare system is so broken. And I think people are just really hungry for something different. So, I’m really excited to be part of this movement.”

Natasha Dillahunt, September 2026 FMCA Student

After graduation, Natasha plans to integrate health coaching into her doula and lactation work, supporting families with areas such as nutrition, sleep, stress, mood, and sustainable healthy habits. She also hopes to collaborate with her friend, who is opening a functional medicine practice in Brooklyn focused on women’s health and hormones, with the opportunity to support women through perimenopause and other important stages of life. Looking further ahead, Natasha envisions creating group programs and workshops that make health and wellness education more accessible to people across different backgrounds and income levels. Through these different avenues, she hopes to help more individuals and families access the knowledge, support, and tools they need to build healthier lives and communities.

Watch the Interview

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

Transcript

Dr. Sandi: First of all, Natasha, I want to be one of the first to congratulate you on being a scholarship recipient, and you’re joining our September 2026 class. And I’m so excited to talk to you. So, let’s start just by…love to hear what drew you to health coaching and then specifically to FMCA.

Natasha: So, it’s actually a little bit of a side quest story because, originally, I applied to do a master’s in social work at Hunter and received…got accepted there. And had to defer for a year because of financial…my husband lost his job and we’re having some financial troubles. And in that time, one of my dearest friends, who was an ER doctor, was doing her training as a functional medicine doctor. And she approached me and said, “You know, you might want to think about functional medicine health coaching.” And I was like, “What? This is a thing?” She was like, “Yeah.” And so, she’s actually the one who was like, “I think this would be a perfect fit for you. Think about it while you’re also thinking about the MSW.”

And so, she sent me your link. And I started diving in, and I was like, whoa, I think this might be it. And that’s kind of what led me to you guys. And you know, I think, just given my background as…you know, I work as a postpartum doula and a lactation counselor. So, I’m working with families, you know, day in, day out in their homes. I’m working in the healthcare sphere already. And that practice in and of itself is so…it’s so holistic. Right? It’s heart, hands, head, you know, providing kind of those aspects.

And so, to be able to really…you know, what I was looking with MSW was to just…I’m ready to go a step further with my career and my impact. And the functional medicine piece just really speaks to me as a way to just bring it even further and deepen my knowledge and deepen my impact on these families and hopefully spread it even further.

Dr. Sandi: Oh, yes. What an inspiring story. I’m so glad that you found us because it’s a perfect match for your work. And how do you want to use this after you graduate? What would be the ideal vision?

Natasha: That’s a really good question. Let’s see. I think, in the short term, it’ll be sort of integrating the coaching into my doula work and lactation visits. You know, part of what I do is also prenatally, like prenatal visits and providing families with a lot of resources and information to kind of, you know, help them prepare for the postpartum period. So, I kind of see, initially, really kind of supporting families more with habits around their food, sleep, stress, mood, not just baby care and the stuff that they have to buy and, you know, all those aspects that they’re so focused on. But really kind of expanding their awareness of what it takes to become a family and a healthy family unit, and all of the pieces that go into kind of, you know, raising a healthy child, but also being healthy as parents.

And then I want to actually collaborate with my friend, who has gotten her functional medicine doctor certification and is opening her own practice here in Brooklyn. And so, I think we…you know, the idea is that we’ll team up and she’s going to focus very much on women’s health and hormones, especially around sort of the perimenopause space, time of life, which I’m well aware of, being in it myself and, you know, work as a team with her.

And then I think, longer term, I really, really want to figure out…and I know this is part of the program, you know, how to put together more group workshop stuff to make the impact wider spread so that people of all walks of life and different income brackets can access this knowledge. So, I hope that answers it.

Dr. Sandi: You have great plans, and I love your vision. And I can totally see this working and growing. We advocate the benefits of partnership with physicians. And there are so many physicians going into root cause medicine, into functional medicine, and they need a coach. And it’s a wonderful collaboration.

Natasha: And I think we’re on a quest, right? I just feel like the functional medicine thing, it’s so needed. Our healthcare system is so broken. And I think people are just really hungry for something different. So, I’m really excited to be, you know, part of this kind of movement that’s really happening right now.

Dr. Sandi: Yes. The train has left the station, and it is soaring. There is so much interest in this field, and health coaches are so well-positioned. And I love hearing about your future intentions as well as you’ve described, blending what you’re already doing. And so many people come to us with prior careers. It doesn’t even have to be in healthcare, but they can blend what they’re doing. And the fact that this doctor you’re connected with wants to focus on women’s health. This is also, for you, perfect timing because we are about to release a course on perimenopause and menopause for health coaches. So, that will really prepare you to have the knowledge, the skills, the understanding to really coach women. So, not only in those crucial times of pre and postpartum, but also in midlife as well.

Natasha: Yeah, absolutely. It’s so desperately needed. It’s just sort of extraordinary how little information and guidance there is for women in the perimenopausal space. You know, it sort of hit us, at least me and my friend group, kind of like a…you know, we’re like, wait, what? Nobody told us. So, I love that. I’m excited for that.

Dr. Sandi: So, once again, congratulations. And I want to welcome you to our FMCA community.