Vanessa is a registered dietitian, public health practitioner, and educator whose work centers on food access, culinary nutrition education, and health equity. She has practiced across inpatient, outpatient, and community settings — including community health centers, a teaching hospital, and a long-term care facility — and has taught culinary nutrition classes for organizations serving youth, families, and older adults across Texas.

As Education Director at SFC, Beltrán supervises a bilingual team, directs curriculum development through community co-creation, and guides the program’s replication partner network statewide. She brings a background in clinical dietetics, community-based nutrition education, and adaptive leadership, including teaching experience at the University of Texas at Austin and Harvard, and consulting with health and social sector organizations navigating complex change. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition from the University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Public Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and a Master of Divinity in Religion, Ethics, and Politics of Health Equity from Harvard Divinity School. Beltrán is currently a DrPH student and Bloomberg American Health Initiative Fellow in Food Systems for Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.