Catalina Vlad-Ortiz
Assistant Professor of Nutrition, Director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics
Email: vladc@spu.edu
Phone: 206-281-2763
Office: Peterson Hall 211
Education: BS, Oregon State University, 2007; MS, Eastern Illinois University, 2010. At SPU since 2015.
Catalina Vlad-Ortiz started her career as registered dietitian. She specializes in medical nutrition therapy and preventative health, focusing extensively on nutrition education. During her practice, she used her expertise in nutrition counseling to create custom-tailored nutrition sessions using evidence-based care and instruction to maximize intervention outcomes, skill application and self-efficacy development.
Drawing from her practice, Ms. Vlad-Ortiz’s approach to teaching nutrition is rooted in the fact that food, and food customs, heavily relate to many aspects that makes an individual unique. She strongly believes that nutrition is both personal and professional. Students in her courses are offered perspectives on not only diet implications, but also how nutrition creates positive, lasting change for a lifetime.
Her passion for dietetics began by investigating a means to placate her interest in science and her love of food. A self-proclaimed “foodie,” Ms. Vlad-Ortiz has a love and admiration for elegant, innovative, inspired, and even “ugly” food. Her motto is that she will try any food three times! She has a deep respect for the ways food connects the individual to God physically, mentally, and spiritually, and believes every meal is an affirmation of that connection.
For more information, view Catalina Vlad-Ortiz’s CV (PDF).