Throughout her career, Joyce Senior Angulo, PhD, PMP, has integrated her passions into her professional endeavors. Since founding Dr. J. Senior Consulting LLC in 2023, where she serves as a bilingual consultant, she has consistently worked with a single client—a nonprofit organization that she supports through coaching sessions and translation services for their online content.
Alongside this role, Dr. Senior Angulo has been a program manager at Oregon State University since 2016, acting as the coordinator for the state’s Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, better known as EFNEP, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education, called SNAP-Ed. In addition, she is the coordinator and program manager for the university’s state leadership team. In 2021, Dr. Senior Angulo co-founded the 501(c)(3) nonprofit My Hair My Health PDX, where she is the deputy director. The organization’s mission is to inspire Black women and their families to live their best lives by creating a collaborative space with events, including classes, workshops, and networking opportunities. Throughout her life, Dr. Senior Angulo has been guided by her core values of love, service, well-being, and growth. She works every day to build a positive legacy and notes that her actions are constantly informed by the questions “How can I become a good ancestor?” and “What am I leaving behind?”
Dr. Senior Angulo has always emphasized education and professional development and considers them the key contributors to her success. In 2009, she earned a bachelor’s degree in human nutrition from the Universidad de Costa Rica, after which she obtained a licentiate diploma in the same subject from the institution in 2010. Following these achievements, she continued her academic journey at Clemson University and graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy in food technology and nutrition in 2015. While pursuing her doctorate, Dr. Senior Angulo worked at Clemson University as a graduate teaching assistant from 2011 to 2015 and served as an international student ambassador from 2014 to 2015. Alongside her formal degrees, she is a certified project management professional (PMP) through the Project Management Institute, a credential she earned in 2022.
Outside of her primary professional roles, Dr. Senior Angulo stays active as a licensed Zumba instructor with Zumba Fitness LLC, having taught the globally popular dance exercise for more than a decade. She has also volunteered her free time by offering pro bono consulting services and was a member of a local food systems nonprofit for more than five years. Looking forward, she hopes to see her own nonprofit organization, My Hair My Health PDX, flourish and achieve financial self-sustainability. Dr. Senior Angulo knows she needs to secure long-term funding to ensure the organization’s longevity and realize her vision of having a positive, lasting impact on her community.
Dr. Senior Angulo expresses deep gratitude for her parents, who were pivotal in shaping and supporting her career path. Her father, a professor emeritus at the University of Costa Rica, instilled the values of discipline, ambition, and the pursuit of academic and professional excellence. Her mother, who is Colombian, passed along a passion for cooking and nurtured her lifelong love of food, eventually influencing her decision to pursue a career in nutrition. In addition, Dr. Senior Angulo was inspired by her mother’s bold decision to start a new life in a different country, following in her footsteps by moving to the United States for her postgraduate studies.
Dr. Senior Angulo emphasizes the importance of achieving a harmonious work-life balance. She values her career yet is unwilling to sacrifice meaningful time with her family and loved ones. Away from work, she enjoys the beach, dancing, teaching Zumba, and singing karaoke. She even won a karaoke competition, winning a $100 prize for her vocal performance.