Kylie Buckner, RN, MSN

Director of Lifestyle Change.

Masters of Science in Nursing, Registered Nurse

Kylie Buckner is a registered nurse and has a master’s degree in nursing education. She has more than 18 years of experience as a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit, in labor and delivery, in OB-GYN, and in pediatrics.

She has dedicated her life to caring for people as a nurse and has an in-depth understanding of the challenges of adopting a plant-based lifestyle. She is also a certified yoga teacher and has been 100% plant-based for over 6 years.

Marc Ramirez

Diabetes Coach, Reversed Type 2 Diabetes

Marc Ramirez is a former University of Michigan Football player who reversed type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, erectile dysfunction, psoriasis, and frequent heartburn using a low-fat, plant-based, whole-food diet. 

He lost 50 pounds in 3 months, and in that same time period he eliminated 5 medications that he had been taking for 10 years. He is certified through the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) as a Food For Life Instructor and conducts classes and 21-Day Kickstarts to help people improve their health. He also appears in the new documentary Eating You Alive.

Wendi Sullivan MA, RDN, CDCES

Diabetes Coach, Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, Living with Type 1 Diabetes

Wendi's passion for helping people with diabetes goes back to when her Dad was suddenly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 12 years old. Her whole family's diet immediately changed to help her Dad become healthy again. Wendi was later diagnosed at age 21 with type 1 diabetes. She was inspired to become a registered dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist to work with people who have diabetes.

Wendi graduated with both her bachelor's and master's degrees in nutrition from Western Michigan University. She has worked with people with diabetes for over 13 years. Wendi loves her nutritious lifestyle!

Natalie Goodwin, MS, RD

Diabetes Coach, Registered Dietitian, Bachelors Biochemistry, Master's in Community Nutrition

Natalie is a Registered Dietitian who has earned a Bachelor's degree in biochemistry and a Master's degree in Community Nutrition. Her professional background in hospital-based clinical nutrition has provided her with experience working with people with a wide range of health concerns.

She has been plant-based for over 7 years and is passionate about helping others take control of their health through diet and lifestyle. She can usually be found working in her garden, rock climbing, or caring for her ever-growing flock of rescue chickens in her spare time. 

Michelle King Davis, BA Education

Diabetes Coach, Certified Health Coach & Personal Trainer

Michelle began a plant-based journey over 20 years ago in response to health
challenges. She became an avid studier of evidence-based nutrition and still
considers herself a lifelong learner. In the early 2000’s she co-authored the book,
Never Be Fat Again. She spent over a decade coaching hundreds, including people living with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, in transitioning to a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle having dedicated her life to helping others thrive, she is excited to be part of the Mastering Diabetes coaching team.

Andrea Woton MPH, RDN

Diabetes Coach, Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, Masters in Public Health

Andrea earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Stanford University and spent the first 10 years of her professional life working as an Investment Banker to technology companies in Silicon Valley and other regions of the nation and world.

Andrea resigned from investment banking because she knew that her purpose was elsewhere. She discovered whole food plant-based diets (wfpb) out of a desire to protect animals and the earth and then learned about the extraordinary health benefits of a wfpb lifestyle. She was hooked and decided to dedicate her life to sharing the miracle of a plant-based lifestyle with others.

She went back to school and earned her Master of Public Health degree in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health (SPH). She then completed her Dietetics training through the UM SPH Dietetics Internship program to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. Andrea founded a telehealth plant-based nutrition coaching practice to help individuals with chronic conditions improve their health by shifting toward wfpb diets. She is now profoundly honored to be a Mastering Diabetes Health Coach.

Paula Allison, RDN, LDN, CDCES

Diabetes Coach, Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist

Paula has been in the field of Dietetics for over 25 years. During this time, she has practiced in a variety of settings. She has worked as a Clinical Dietitian at a hospital covering an array of services including, Diabetes, Community Nutrition, Pediatric, Cardiac, Renal, and intensive care. She has also worked as a Public Health nutritionist for many years. Paula graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics from Plattsburgh State University and completed her Dietetic Internship. She later went on to become a Diabetes Educator.

Her greatest passion is helping many clients achieve their health goals by empowering them through education and support using your food as medicine. 

Amy Leahy, BA Health Sciences in Nutritional & Dietetic Medicine

Diabetes Coach, Nutritionist

Amy Leahy is a degree certified Nutritionist, holding a Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc) in Nutritional and Dietetic Medicine. It was through studying the overwhelming evidence about how a plant-based lifestyle can truly change a person’s health that moved Amy from a vegetarian to a fully plant-based lifestyle.

Her passion and drive are to educate & empower others with the knowledge to make the best health choices for themselves. Amy is a passionate keynote speaker and educator on plant-based nutrition in her home country of Australia.

Sharon Scarlat

Diabetes Coach, B.S. in Nutritional Science, MA in Biopsychology, Certified Ashtanga Yoga Teacher, Living with Type 1 Diabetes

Sharon received her Bachelor’s in Nutritional Science from UC Berkeley in 2016 and her Master’s in Biopsychology from Tel Aviv University in 2020. Her gravitation toward nutrition and wellness came after her own diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in 2007. After years of unanswered questions surrounding her glucose control, she adopted a WFPB diet in 2016 and her life was revolutionized.

In the last few years, Sharon has been involved in clinical research, studying the effects of stress and inflammation on cancer progression, and in health technology, working on the development of personalized insulin pumps. She is a 500RYT- certified Ashtanga Yoga teacher and strives to use meditation, breathing, and mindfulness as tools to maintain wellbeing. Sharon hopes to empower people to not only regain control of their health, but to regain trust in their body’s capability to heal. Sharon continues to deepen her understanding of health through her interest in integrative medicine, dedication to movement and exercise, and her exploration of exotic plants and produce. 

Linda Rukavina, NBC-HWC, INHC

Diabetes Coach, National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, living with insulin-dependent Monogenic Diabetes

Linda is certified through the National Board for Health & Wellness Coaches and holds a Lifestyle Medicine Coach (LMC) certificate from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. She completed her health coach training at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She also has a BBA and MBA in Finance. Prior to health coaching, she worked in corporate finance and consulting.

She has been living with diabetes since the age of 30 but didn’t get serious about her health until 2012 when she transitioned to a plant-based diet and watched her A1C fall from 6.7% to 5.8%. She worked for many years to reverse her diabetes with diet and exercise but eventually learned she had low insulin production and started taking insulin. To help with the transition, she did private coaching Mastering Diabetes. The accountability, competence, and confidence she gained were key to her success and the inspiration for her to pursue health coaching. Now she loves empowering others with the life-changing power of whole food plant-based eating and lifestyle change!

Marco Ranzi, MS

Diabetes Coach, MS in Nutrition

Marco, MS holds a Master’s Degree in Nutrition with an emphasis in Human Performance from Logan University to go along with a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell. He is also certified as a National Academy of Sports Medicine Personal Trainer and Sleep Expert and is a Permaculture Design Course graduate. Marco strongly believes in a holistic approach to health and utilizing food as medicine. He has the unique experience of being raised plant-based and has been following this lifestyle for over 20 years.

In 2017 Marco hiked the entire 2,190 miles of the Appalachian Trail powered completely by plants.

He now lives in Costa Rica with his wife Maria where they tend to their gardens and fruit forest with regenerative practices. They enjoy the local beaches and waterfalls in their free time.

Deb Scott, RN

Diabetes Coach, Registered Nurse, National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach

Deb is passionate about helping people make important lifestyle changes and is certified as a Lifestyle Medicine Coach by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM). She originally became interested in the science of behavior change while helping a family member struggling to change their habits after a diagnosis of diabetes and heart failure. Her professional medical training includes a B.S in nursing and experience as a Registered Nurse with a background in cardiac and primary care.

After becoming vegetarian as a teen, Deb adopted a plant-based diet in 2008 for ethical reasons. She advocates using whole food plant-based nutrition for the numerous health benefits and has followed evidence-based science on the subject for years. Utilizing Lifestyle Medicine and its tenets personally helps Deb to thrive and allows her to instill these values in her interactions with clients. She loves to share her passion for using food as medicine and is committed to empowering and educating people on how lifestyle changes can prevent and reverse the chronic diseases taking a huge toll on Americans today.

Jessica Stidham, NBC-HWC, INHC

Diabetes Coach, National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, living with Type 1 Diabetes

Jessica is certified through the National Board for Health & Wellness Coaches and she completed her health coach training at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1996 when she was 3 years old. She was also diagnosed with celiac disease at a young age.

Jessica began her plant-based journey in 2016 by becoming a client of Cyrus Khambatta when he was running his company, Mangoman Nutrition. She was able to achieve all of her goals such as achieving a 5.4% A1c, losing 50 lbs, and cutting her insulin needs by more than half while eating 300x more carbohydrates. She has the unique experience of being one of the first hires on the Mastering Diabetes team and even helped decide the name of the company. Now she loves empowering others to achieve their goals!

Amanda Pyne

Diabetes Coach, National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, Living with Type 1 Diabetes.

Amanda was diagnosed with Type 1 when she was 12 years old. As the only member of her extended family with the disease, she often felt like an outsider. Over the years, she tried every therapy available, but it wasn’t until someone recommended the Mastering Diabetes book that she felt she had found a place to belong. For the first time, she felt like she was in control, not her diabetes. Her A1c is never above 5, and she now has the energy to keep up with her young family.

Amanda has degrees in Dietetic Technology and Health and Wellness Promotion. In November 2022, she passed the board certification to become a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach to help others. She also holds certificates in Plant Based Nutrition, Health & Wellness Coaching, Meditation & Mindfulness Teaching, and specialized training as a Lifestyle Coach for the National Diabetes Prevention Program.

Katharine Baker, PhD

Wellness & Weight Loss Coach, Certified by Duke Health & Well-Being

Katharine is an enthusiastic convert to low-fat, whole-food, plant-based nutrition after dropping weight easily for the first time in her life, and improving her energy, fitness, and lab reports. She is grateful for the revolutionary research and accessible advice provided by Cyrus and Robby in the Mastering Programs, and eager to share this life-saving why and how with others. Katharine wants to support your self-empowerment with education, behavior change, and mindfulness. She is attentive to the psychological and emotional aspects of transformation, especially the power of envisioning a new way of well-being.

Certified as a coach by Duke Health & Well-Being, Katharine is pursuing further certification by the National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching. She is a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, and has trained in their Food as Medicine program. She earned a PhD in Religion, Psychology & Culture at Vanderbilt University, learning the impact of beliefs, habits, emotions, and environment on behavior. Previously, she worked at the Cal Turner Program for Moral Leadership in the Professions at Vanderbilt University, where she mentored professional students, and the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching, where she coached faculty members.