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Hi, I’m Tab Lopez. A few years ago, I woke up in the middle of the night from a dream hearing a voice say, “Be a tree.” Startled but curious, I held on to it. Since then, that phrase has grown into a guiding metaphor for my life and my coaching practice: Root to Fruit Health & Wellbeing LLC. Trees connect. They communicate, nourish one another, and thrive through deep-rooted relationships with their ecosystems. Much like us. As someone raised in a family where mutual care was survival—where the community checked in, shared meals, held space, and showed up—I learned early that healing is a collective process. And yet, so many of us whose lives are dedicated to the care and upliftment of others are often running on empty. I’ve seen it—and lived it—firsthand. Root to Fruit is a return to our internal sources of guidance and vitality. It’s a coaching philosophy and practice grounded in behavior science, backed by community wisdom, and enriched by the assets of cultural roots. It’s a place where helpers are helped, and where well-being is both a personal journey and a shared liberation. My training through Duke Health & Wellbeing prepares me to support lasting, meaningful change, and it’s built on a foundation of decades working in cultural studies, the arts, group facilitation, and applied theatre. For my graduate thesis, I collaborated with Master of Social Work students to explore how theatre could help clients take bold steps toward transformation. My undergraduate research focused on cultural roots and community resilience. My Caribbean heritage, my plant-loving grandmother, and a family name like “Flores” (flowers) all shaped a deep personal truth: healing is cyclical, natural, and relational. Like a tree, you can flourish when you are nourished at the root.

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