One Drop coach, Lisa Graham, grew up in Los Angeles thinking she was going to be an actress. Instead, her bold dreams morphed into a bigger performance than any Hollywood movie set could offer: a lifelong career as a registered nurse and certified diabetes care and education specialist (CDCES).
Graham’s grandmother was a pastor and her mother was a nurse. Following in the footsteps of strong women, she, too, entered a helping profession.
“I developed confidence from performing on stage throughout school, so getting up in front of people and talking came natural to me,” Graham said. “Then, seeing what my grandmother and mother were doing in the community, one thing led to another and I entered nursing school at USC.”
Graham graduated with her bachelor’s degree and spent 27 years working in traditional healthcare in the Atlanta area, where she most recently coordinated the diabetes and nutrition education program at two large hospitals.
She saw healthcare for all it was—good and bad—which prompted her to join One Drop as the lead coach for the cardiovascular program. As a nurse, she was taught to be an advocate for patients. She saw a greater need, however, and this was her opportunity to act.
“People need to learn not only how to advocate for themselves in the healthcare system, but how to explore other credible options to maintain their health outside of it,” she said. “That’s where One Drop coaches come in.”
In all her experience working as a nurse and CDCES, she saw that the teaching she was doing can actually affect generations.
“People take what they learn back to their families,” Graham explained. “It excites me that the information we as coaches are providing the One Drop community can affect health for the better and live on for generations.”
Graham’s passion for providing education doesn’t end at One Drop, either. She’s working on her master’s degree in nursing and, in her spare time, teaches seniors how to line dance.
“I like to say that I can command a dance floor, and show others how to do the same,” she said.
And, that’s precisely how she teaches people to command their health. One step at a time, of course.
