Member Profile: Renata Altamirano

Born and raised in Mexico City, Renata is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN)in the United States, a Certified Sports Dietitian Nutritionist by the Mexican Sports Nutrition Federation, and a Level 2 ISAK Anthropometrist.  She earned her master’s degree in Sports Nutrition with a focus on Sustainability at the University of Colorado in the United States. As a graduate assistant for Dr. Nanna Mayer, she led various projects integrating sports nutrition into food literacy strategies. Renata did research on body composition and developed educational resources for athletes, coaches, and teachers, for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and for U.S. Figure Skating. 

She gained experience working with college athletes (NCAA Division I athletes) as a Sports Nutrition Fellow at the University of Utah. This role provided invaluable insight into navigating the sports dietitian role within various multi-disciplinary teams. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked along Susie Parker-Simmons as a winter sports dietitian at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee where she collaborated with sports dietitians from other winter sports National Governing Bodies (NGBs) on the elaboration of nutrition education materials. Her favorite tasks were providing team nutrition education with hands-on activities in the Teaching Kitchen to local and visiting athletes and coaches.

Additionally, she deeply enjoyed teaching cooking enrichment classes in Denver Metropolitan area to children ages 3-17; introducing nutrition, geography, history, science, mathematics and team building through entertaining food education. Renata taught basic kitchen skills and recipes from around the world with seasonal foods at private and public schools, summer camps, after-school programs, libraries, private parties and online classes.

Renata relocated to Barcelona, Spain in January 2022. Continues working remotely and in-person with her private practice based in Mexico, United States and now Spain. She is passionate about integrative and hands-on learning experiences with food such as cooking with athletes and getting them to local farmer’s markets to educate about proper fueling for health and performance. An advocate for traditional cooking methods and sustainable food, she is now learning Catalan language and traditional food as she immerses in a new culture.

PINES Role

Renata has been translating sports nutrition research to Spanish speaking dietitians for many years now, previously as a Coordinator of Scientific Diffusion for the Mexican Sports Nutrition Federation since 2015 where she also promoted PINES along Mexican sports dietitians. That year, she joined PINES as student member participating as a volunteer in the ACSM annual meeting PINES session. Later she became professional member. On June 2020 she joined the America Region as a Global representative and as of May 2022, Renata has joined the Europe team as a Coordinator along Nidia Rodriguez, Sarah Chantler, and Erick Mosquera.