Wellbeing Coaching

I’ve been hooked on being a health educator since the 7th grade when I began the Good Samaritan Club with concern about health and safety after a tragic injury that resulted from the fall of a classmate. I found my way to receive two academic degrees in Public Health Education and spent my early professional career partnering with the community to address maternal and child health issues, especially within under-resourced communities. Currently I am a Professor in The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) – Department of Public Health Education, gratefully giving over 20-years of academic scholarship in community engagement and health coaching. I’ve coached clients with self-identified chronic health conditions (e.g., such as obesity, depression, stress, and multiple sclerosis), and lead the department’s efforts to train and certify lay and professional health coaching practitioners. Wellbeing Coaching is my heart-time job because I can dream with my clients as they discover their path to personal fulfillment and confidently strive to make their dreams a reality.

As a co-Director of the UNCG Health Coach Training Center I provide consultation and training on evidence-based person-centered care and competency-based assessment of health educators and coach practitioners. In addition to receiving national recognition for making significant contributions to the health education field, I’ve also earned the credential of Master Certified Health Education Specialist and Certified Health & Wellness Coach. Several of my invited presentations and papers have focused on my CBPR efforts to partner with communities to focus on issues that impact the health of mothers, emerging youth, and minority populations.

My background in public health education started with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. Here, I found my passion for physical activity and the effects it has on overall wellbeing. As I was working as a personal trainer, I realized that regular exercise not only influences a person’s fitness capabilities, but their overall attitude, mental health, self-efficacy, and self-confidence. Later in my career, I worked as an exercise physiologist where I was running stress tests and cardiovascular screenings for firefighters and other first responders. I soon realized that being healthy was more than going to the gym every day, and that one’s overall attitude, mental health, self-efficacy, and self-confidence plays a role in one’s wellbeing. From here, I pursued a Master’s in Public Health Education where I was able to work with the employee wellness program at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Here, I ran programs for employees that focused on mental health/mindfulness, healthy eating, weight loss, and physical activity. I also worked with a research team that explores other factors, such as, safety, access, and workplace stress that influence the health of employees. I believe that health coaching is a powerful tool in allowing others to realize their potential and empower them to make positive choices for their future.

I can’t remember when I was not involved in the wellbeing of friends and the community where I lived. Whether it was participating in a walk to combat heart disease or juvenile diabetes, walking with a friend who is a cancer survivor or volunteering at a local free medical clinic, for me the concept of wellness is more than one’s health status.

I graduated from Trinity University in Texas with a major in Biology and received a Master’s degree from UNC-Greensboro with an emphasis in Health Education. I am a Certified Health Coach (UNC-Greensboro 2014) and have been a Certified Diabetes Educator since 2003.

I have been working in health education for over 25 years. I began my career as the first health educator with the Bladen County Health department in Elizabethtown, N.C. where I developed and implemented family planning program for the community and pioneered the county’s first family life education program. I then became a regional health educator with a responsibility for 17 county health departments in the southeastern part of the state. My role was to work with the local health educators to develop and implement family planning programs for individual, group and community settings.

After moving to Winston Salem, I transitioned back into direct patient care when I took the position of Lead Health Educator with Winston Salem Health Care (now Novant Health). For a number of years my primary responsibility was working with RJR employees and their families on the prevention and control of their chronic diseases and in their health/wellness journey. While employed at WSHC I became the first Health and Wellness Coach for the Allegacy Credit Union, working with over 300 employees.

I have worked with Eli Lilly pharmaceutical company as an Interactive Diabetes Educator and with Merck as an educator for the Journey for Control programs. Have been past president and am presently president of the Piedmont Area Association of Diabetes Educators, PARADE.

I have also worked with the Research Department at Winston Salem State University as an instructor in 2 research intervention studies. The “Hosea Project,” a 12-week diabetes prevention program based in African American churches and “Weight Matters” an 18-week weight loss intervention program with a focus of reducing the likelihood of developing high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.

I look at myself as a change agent in an effort to assist individuals in improving their health status and work /life balance. You will find that I am very passionate, dedicated and enthusiastic.

After graduating from college my journey into working with individuals in the health and fitness industry started as a part time job as a fitness trainer at Gold’s Gym. My passion grew and continued to grow from this experience. After 28 years in a corporate job, I resigned to follow my purpose and passion in fitness and wellbeing. I have 20 years’ experience as a personal trainer and 12 years’ experience as a yoga instructor. During my nine years working as Associate Wellness Director managing HanesBrand’s headquarters on-site fitness center, I discovered Wellcoaches and got my Wellness Coach certification. I observed people’s needs in and out of the corporate world were becoming more and more holistic. Also from my Wellcoaches certification I have the training in helping individuals in the areas of: life satisfaction, work-life-balance, nutrition, weight management, alcohol intake, tobacco, stress management, sleep and physical activity.
I am committed to coaching guiding people in becoming aware of how to live healthier lives through proactive and preventive measures.  I am a fellow traveler on a journey called life.  I am passionate about traveling side by side with others as a wellbeing coach.  My goal is to empower and inspire people to not just survive the hard and challenging things in life but to learn, grow and THRIVE! One of my favorite quotes is “Give a person a fish and he will eat fish for a day. Teach him how to fish and he can eat fish whenever he wants.”

 Crystal is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has over ten years of experience of providing diabetes education in underserved communities across North Carolina. Crystal is credentialed as a Master Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES) and is a certified Health Coach through UNCG Health Coaching Programs. She has educated several community residents in chronic disease self-management and has been successful in empowering community residents to achieve personal health goals. Her expertise in community mobilization, program planning, and program recruitment has helped bridge the gap between healthcare providers and the community, which has helped to improve the medical compliance of the underserved population. In addition to her contributions to a local coalition being recognized internationally as a model for diabetes management, she has also contributed to research funded by the National Institutes of Health, co-authored journal articles and presented her research at local and national organizations, such as the American Public Health Association. Mrs. Dixon is actively involved with the Guilford Anti-Racism Alliance and is a member of the Greensboro Health Disparities Collaborative.