Officers and Members

A 5th-generation Lakeland native, Michelle is passionate about sharing the gift of wellness with her beloved community.

Her areas of expertise include yoga, meditation and mindfulness, nutrition, and lifestyle medicine. Michelle brings her experience to her day job at Lakeland Regional Health as Manager of Employee Health & Wellness and to her 501(c)(3) non-profit, Healing United.

Michelle provides 1:1 coaching service to motivated clients who are ready to achieve optimal health and reach their wellness goals across all domains. She is a registered yoga teacher (E-RYT 200, RYT-500, YACEP), National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC), Lifestyle Medicine Coach (ACLM). Michelle merges ancient practices with modern, evidence-based lifestyle medicine modalities to enhance lives and better her community.

Michelle lives on a small farm in historic Kathleen with her husband, son, two dogs, five cats, and 19 dwarf goats. Contact her to schedule a visit - guests are always welcome!

Ms. Hand is the director of wellness at Florida Presbyterian Homes and has been there for almost ten years. She has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Health Promotion and has worked in the field of wellness for over twenty years. She has held positions as a Clinical Exercise Specialist in outpatient rehabilitation and in corporate wellness with Johnson & Johnson. She holds several certifications that include Certified Medical Exercise Specialist, Group Fitness Instructor, Aquatic Exercise, and is a Master Trainer for A Matter of Balance. She is also a member of the Coalition on Injury Prevention’s, Falls Task Force. Her areas of specialty are older adult exercise and the 7 dimensions of wellness. When she is not at work she enjoys running, outdoor activities, and spending time with her family.

Human Resources Manager & Health and Wellness Coordinator for Heartland for Children

Mid Florida SHRM VP of Administration

President of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated – Gamma Phi Zeta Polk County Chapter

Andrea Nikolai has a master’s in public health nutrition, is a registered dietitian nutritionist, loves traveling and blueberries, and works with the University of Florida in Polk County as the Family and Consumer Sciences Agent. She works to bring the latest food and nutrition research into practice and uses evidenced-based information to help individuals and families find solutions for their lives.

Donna Kay Dinkins is a certified Nutrition and Wellness Coach and owner of Inspire Me To Be Healthy LLC. She enjoys helping aging women who struggle with weight gain and want to regain their stamina. After ending her career as a Chemist, Donna Kay transformed herself into Health and Wellness to overcome the toxic effects of her work environment. Currently, Donna Kay assists families transitioning loved ones out of the family home as a Senior Real Estate Specialist® utilizing her knowledge and experience in healthcare. Donna Kay has spoken on topics such as productivity, wellness transformation, and senior fitness. In her spare time, Donna Kay enjoys teaching others about health and wellness specializing in the senior population. You will see Donna Kay in the community teaching various classes such as Active Living Every Day and Healthy Eating Every Day through the Senior Connection Center serving our aging population.

At an early age, Debbie Zimmerman vowed a lifestyle of prevention fearing she would face many of the debilitating diseases that plagued her family tree—heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Her commitment to an active lifestyle as an aerobic fitness instructor and personal trainer complimented her position as the Wellness Manager for Polk County Schools, the first school district in the nation to have an organized wellness program. During her 30-year career in corporate wellness, she was recognized and awarded on both state and national levels for her leadership in health care cost containment and disease management.

​Debbie is the founder of PhytoFit, LLC; her mission is to teach the benefits of a whole food, plant-based lifestyle for optimal health and wellbeing. From the corporate client to individuals, Debbie motivates her audience to make lifestyle modifications to prevent and reverse chronic diseases.

​Debbie holds certifications in Lifestyle Medicine and Health Coaching, Plant-Based Nutrition, Group Fitness and Personal Training. She is a licensed and certified Food for Life Instructor through the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. She has a Bachelor of Science, Health Care Administration and Master of Business Administration from St. Leo University. Debbie co-founded Polk Wellness Professionals in 2011.

Liz has been an active member of Polk Wellness Professionals since 2014 and is a recent past Co-Chair.

Liz has been an Employee Benefits Advisor since 2010. After a few years of playing the status quo game which included delivering yearly premium increases to clients while providing no additional value, Liz knew there had to be a better way. Thus, she proactively enrolled in a Masters Degree Program out of the University of Lynchburg in Health Benefit Design & Health Informatics. It was through this program that Liz learned that there IS a better way and that she could be part of the solution and not part of the problem. It was also through the Master’s Degree program that Liz was introduced to the Health Rosetta, a blue-print for high-performing benefits built to reduce costs by 20-40%, improve the quality of care and provide a better care experience for the member and the provider. Liz applied and was accepted as a Health Rosetta Benefits Advisor where she commits to an industry-leading standard of transparency and fiduciary responsibility to her clients and their employees. Using data analytics and proven practices, she designs health benefit plans that can reduce health care spending while achieving BETTER health outcomes and providing richer plan designs. One of Liz’s clients was recently highlighted on an ABC Action News segment for the innovative and high-performing plan that was implemented under her direction.

Liz is also a Medicare specialist and helps individuals and group members navigate what can be a crazy and confusing space.

Liz is married and has two children. Her son, Adam, is currently attending Polk State University and recently earned his private Pilot’s license, the first of many hurdles to his dream of becoming an airline pilot. Her daughter, Carmen, is graduating from McKeel Academy of Technology and will be attending the University of Central Florida to study nursing starting in June. Liz loves to read, (especially fiction, as well as industry-related materials like The CEO's Guide to Restoring the American Dream, the Opioid Crisis Wake-up Call by Dave Chase, Never Pay the First Bill by Marshall Allen and The Price We Pay by Marty Makary), attend Pilates classes, play tennis and spend time with her family and new puppy, Stella.

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Marcy Sawyer is a dynamic and motivated National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, with a unique background in both corporate and healthcare settings. She has a deep personal and professional passion for assisting others in their own wellness journey.

Marcy’s background includes owning and operating Wellness Words, LLC., a health and wellness coaching firm working with private clients toward their own wellness vision and goals. She also has prior corporate expertise in operations for a Fortune 100 company, experience in respiratory care and infection control at a major Level II trauma hospital, as well as experience in the workers’ compensation injury consulting field.

Currently, Marcy works for Aetna/CVS as the onsite health and wellness coach assigned to Polk County Government, for the over 8000 members in their Aetna health plan. Marcy provides individual and group health coaching focusing on chronic disease management as well as being the lead wellness resource for Polk County Government.

A Polk County native, Marcy is nationally certified by the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching. She is a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, a globally recognized program in the nutrition and wellness coaching world, licensed by the New York Board of Education. She attended Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and is continuing her education in Psychology at Liberty University. When she is not assisting others with their wellness goals, she enjoys hiking, camping and baby animals.

Brittany is a Corporate Wellness Consultant with over ten years of wellness experience guiding others to a better lifestyle that meets their personal and professional needs. She has a passion for helping others gain equitable healthcare by forming a strategy to create and maintain a culture of health. She can bring a variety of wellness services onsite or virtually to your organization to include topics such as emotional wellbeing, physical activity, and balanced nutrition.

Sarah Betzer has been the VP/Human Resources Director at Bank of Central Florida for five years and has over ten years of management experience. Sarah worked in Human Services for almost ten years before switching careers to work in Human Resources in banking. Since she joined the bank, she implemented a wellness program, facilitated group team building exercises, and recommended and implemented policy changes. Sarah has received the United Way of Central Florida’s Employee Coordinator of the year award for medium sized business in 2020. Sarah received her MBA from Southeastern University in 2015 and received her SHRM-CP certification in 2017. Sarah volunteers her time with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Tampa Bay and EMERGE Lakeland, a young professionals organization, and is serving as the 2021 Chair of the EMERGE Steering Committee.

Kia Troutman is a Florida Native and wellness enthusiast that is focused on helping individuals reduce stress and find lifestyle modifications that are beneficial and sustainable for the community as a whole.