Rosa D C.

About Rosa D C.

I design, govern, organize, and implement scalable public health systems across food systems, the built environment, and community care throughout New Mexico and Colorado. My work focuses on building health systems beyond clinical care—where policy, culture, and implementation translate into lived population health outcomes under real-world conditions.My practice sits at the intersection of systems design, participatory process, and applied public health. I work through deep listening, facilitation, and co-creation—drawing from community-based participatory research, participatory budgeting, empowerment education, and Freirean pedagogy. I design structures where community members are not program recipients, but co-architects, decision-makers, and stewards of the systems that affect their lives.Over two decades, I have led initiatives spanning food systems, community health, aging services, veteran supports, and family services across urban, rural, and frontier contexts. I specialize in moving work from concept to pilot to implementation and evaluation—particularly in environments where resources are constrained and decisions carry real consequences.My background includes peer-reviewed and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation–supported research on the built environment, environmental health, health advocacy, and integrative medicine. This work grounds my leadership in evidence while remaining centered on execution, feasibility, accountability, and team development.Recent work includes leading Nourish & Restore, a trauma-informed nutrition and community-care pilot serving veterans in transitional housing and their families. The program operates as a coordinated system—from intake and early risk triage through choice-based food access, skill-building, leadership development, and ongoing participant feedback.I also write public essays and op-eds translating public health systems thinking into accessible language for institutions, communities, and decision-makers, particularly in rural and borderlands contexts.I am open to senior leadership, advisory, and partnership roles where systems design, participatory governance, collaborative implementation, and resource stewardship are essential.Some of this work comes from prayer, some from practice—all of it from responsibility.

Experience

1. Nutrition Coordinator Public Health Trauma & Harm Reduction Informed Nutrition

   Nm Veterans Integration Centers

   Nov 2025 — Present · Albuquerque, NM, US

   Designed and piloted Nourish & Restore, a trauma-informed nutrition system supporting 25-40 Veteran and Family residents weekly across transitional housingProvide programmatic and systems leadership for community food services and nutrition initiatives, applying trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and food-justice/harm reduction frameworks to operational design and service delivery.Coordinate procurement, inventory management, food safety, storage, and regulatory compliance in alignment with federal, state, and partner guidelines, supporting responsible stewardship, accountability, and long-term program sustainability.Support and expand nutrition education and food distribution activities through staff and volunteer training, process improvement, and relationship-building with local producers, markets, and community food partners.Manage operations of a community food distribution program serving veterans and households annually, ensuring adherence to health, safety, civil-rights, and documentation standards.Collaborate across departments to embed nutrition and wellness objectives into resident services, strengthening integrated, whole-person approaches to care.Apply evidence-informed nutrition care processes—including assessment, goal-setting, skill-building, and outcome tracking—delivering accessible, culturally relevant education in nutrition, cooking, and food budgeting.Strengthen participant awareness of and access to federal nutrition assistance programs and community resources, advancing equitable food access and long-term stability in alignment with organizational mission.

Education

• Teleosis Institute

  Certificate in Green Health Care, Leadership in Green Health Care

  2008 — 2009

• University of Arizona

  Integrative Nutrition Sciences

  2008 — 2009

• The University of New Mexico

  Bachelor of Science (BS)

  2003 — 2008

• Colorado Mountain College

  Outdoor Recreation Leadership, Wilderness Studies

  1999 — 2001

• UNM School of Medicine

  Master of Public Health (MPH), Community Health

  2010 — 2012