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Rising Stars: Meet Dr. Fiona B. Lewis

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Fiona B. Lewis.

Dr. Fiona B. Lewis

Hi Dr. Lewis, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?

I would say that the genesis of my 16-year health and wellness career began sometime between my teenage and young adult years. I migrated from Guyana with my mom Lorna Leitch, and my younger sister, Keisha Baird when I was 11. Shortly after our arrival in the Bronx, NY my maternal grandmother passed away in Guyana. After her passing, I noticed that several of her children either became ill or passed away over a 5-year period. During my mid-twenties, I started taking science and nutrition classes. I also started attending the Seventh Day Adventist church which has a strong emphasis on holistic health as part of its faith tradition. With this new information, I realized that the deaths and poor quality of life that I saw in my family were mostly preventable with lifestyle. These illnesses included type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, strokes, and cancer.

As a result, I switched my career focus. At that point, I had earned a bachelor’s in arson investigation and planned on progressing to a career in forensic science. However, the power of chronic disease prevention and reversal was so compelling that I changed my trajectory, and I haven’t looked back. I earned an MS in Nutrition and Wellness from Andrews University in 2007 and also became a registered dietitian that year. After working as a clinical dietitian and then doing home visits in the South Bronx, one thing was clear, health and wellness was more complex than personal choices. I decided to enroll in a doctoral program to explore the complexities of health and wellness at the population level. In 2013, I earned my Doctorate in Public Health from Loma Linda University with an emphasis on preventive care. This degree exposed me to concepts like the social determinants of health, population, culture of health, and health disparities, and health equity which I have integrated into my professional career and entrepreneurship projects.

My career spans several industries, which include traditional healthcare, academic leadership, and mentorship in higher education, community nutrition, food service, and hospitality management, as well as my own culinary nutrition and wellness entrepreneurship projects.

 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

I saw this question and laughed because I am a self-proclaimed Phoenix Phenom and Bounce-Back Queen. Recently, I made a very difficult decision to return to academia and accept an academic leadership role as the director of a doctoral program after leaving academia in 2017 to go to culinary school and start my wellness entrepreneurship journey. I was sharing with the students as part of my introduction that I have had at least eight Phoenix moments in my thus far. One of the superpowers that God and life have developed in me is pivoting. I am a dreamer who takes a lot of risks. Between pursuing big, audacious God-sized dreams and the natural course of life, the demand to constantly pivot has been a consistent part of my journey. As I share my challenges, I also have no regrets. I am grateful for God’s guidance, provision, and unfailing love, as well as the support of my family, friends, mentors, sponsors, and collaborators.

Things have been anything but smooth, and at this point, I would channel my inner Sarah Jakes Roberts to say that there is nothing but the glory (of God) left. I have come to the end of myself (personal capacity) and the end of circumstances many times. I have moved at least eight times over the past 16 years. Most of those moves were interstate and cross country. The circumstances of those moves necessitated taking only what could fit in whatever Honda Civic I owned at that time. Most of the time I gave away my belongings. On rare occasions I sold them.

I am the oldest of two girls, first and only in my immediate family to earn graduate degrees. Navigating predominantly White institutions (PWIs) was challenging. My early choices for my education were a by-product of my limited exposure. I struggled a lot with my cultural identity and belonging. I spent approximately 11 years earning degrees and accumulating a lot of student loan debt that are still part of my reality. Traditionally, throughout my career, I have found myself in roles where I am the first or only Black woman, or I am the only one who looks like me in the room.  This has brought its share of challenges with code-switching, imposter syndrome, subtle and not-so-subtle attempts to diminish my value and contributions.

The past six years have been the hardest of my life. The highs and lows of entrepreneurship have impacted my well-being. In 2017, I left my academic career and moved back to NY to attend culinary school in preparation for the launch of my entrepreneurship journey. The next year, I moved to the Jackson, MS area to establish a plant-forward culinary nutrition and wellness teaching kitchen. I fell in love with MS, the history, and the beautiful people. My three years there was life-changing; among many things, I became a first-time homeowner. The house had almost 2 acres of land which I had planned to grow food. The house reminded me of my grandmother’s house in Sandvoort Village, Guyana, where I spent a few years of the younger part of my childhood. I had incredible opportunities to collaborate with and receive the support of many kind people, such as Dr. Cindy Ayers of Foot Print Farms, The South Jackson Seventh Day Adventist Church, and Dr. Timothy Lampkin and the Higher Purpose Co. team and Innovate Mississippi. Unfortunately, I struggled to find a profitable and scalable business model; bootstrapping was not sustainable. To survive financially, I had to pivot. I sold my home and went back to full-time employment, which required me to move to Florida and then to Atlanta six months later. I am currently living out another phoenix moment of rebirth and reinvention, for which I am grateful.  The beauty of my journey is God keeps giving me a fresh new start and every new start is better than the previous.

 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

In my wellness entrepreneurship role, I own several wellness start-ups that are in different phases of development in the business life-cycle.  Through LLBJ Culinary and Wellness Entreprises LLC I collaborate with leaders to intentionally create a culture of health in their organizations through consulting, food as medicine workshops, webinars and other wellness events. Through the website I also offer food as medicine meal plan subscriptions. A food as medicine content library subscription will be launching in a few weeks.  Black & Peri LLC is an emerging FemTech brand that I created to provide wellness solutions for Black women transitioning to menopause because we are underseved and underrepresented in this area.  Recently, I released Blooming Legacy: A Journal of Growth and Grace to help Black women to be intentional about nurturing the things that matter to them most using the 8 dimensions of health frame work. I am also the author of The Phoenix Phenomenon: The Rebirth, Renewal, and Reemergence of the Authentic You and A Flavorful Life: 12 Spiritual Lessons from the Kitchen.

In my non-entrepreneurship role, I serve as the director of a doctoral program with an emphasis in advanced leadership practice in public health. This is my third academic leadership and mentorship role in higher education. I am known for the holistic development and preparation of students as learners and leaders. I am most proud of having the honor of mentoring and being part of the success story of students at the undergraduate, master, and doctoral levels. What sets me apart in this role is my ability to leverage my entrepreneurship mindset and experience in any traditional work setting to add value to the organization and people I serve.

 

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?

When I was growing up I wanted to be a fashion designer and interior decorator.  During my teenage years I spent a lot time creating fashion design sketches.  I was fascinated by Andre Leon Tally’s eye and passion for fashion.  I loved to listen to his commentary.  B. Smith, restaraunteur, model, cook-book author, entrepreneur, and entertainer is my forever phoenix inspiration.  She was before her time and I don’t think that she really got her flowers.  May they both sleep in peace.  I taught myself to sew back in 2017, designed and sewed African print aprons, table runners, and napkins when I launched LLBJ.  Bad business idea but I had so much fun with those beautiful fabrics, styling my mom, sister, childhood friend and God-daughter for photoshoots.   I still dabble occasionally with sewing and decorating.  With my sewing I mostly create pieces by draping but it has been a while. I recently learned from Martha Stewart’s Master Class episode that she started her company at 50 years old, I’m making good time!

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