Nathalie Celestin, MPH, CHES, is a Ph.D. student in Community Nutrition at Cornell University. Her research examines how people create and sustain a sense of belonging through their experiences within food environments and neighborhood contexts. Prior to joining the Odoms-Young Nutrition Liberation, Food Sovereignty, and Justice Lab, Nathalie contributed to state and national initiatives related to USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed). She served as a CDC subject matter expert for the Building Resilient Inclusive Communities (BRIC) program and developed cultural food preference tools to enhance food choice in various food settings. Drawing on these experiences, she brings applied public health and community nutrition expertise to her academic work. For her dissertation, she is particularly interested in how immigrant women of childbearing age (18–45 years old) create and sustain a sense of belonging as they navigate cultural and social transitions. Nathalie’s community-engaged approach centers community knowledge and experiences to generate and translate evidence into practice. 

  • Celestin, N., Oza-Frank, R., Smarsh, B., Lee, S. H., & Harris, D. M. (2026). Addressing food and nutrition security through community initiatives: Assessment of healthier food incentive programs in U.S. municipalities. Nutrients, 18(7), 1055. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18071055
  • Moore, C. J., Celestin, N., Cox, G. O., Williams, T. N., & Mullis, R. M. (2022). Incorporating paraprofessional educators’ perspectives into the curriculum revision process for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences Education, 40(1), 13–26.
  • Cotwright, C. J., Hall, J., Arrington, N. M., Celestin, N., Sanders, H., Ragan, T., & Birch, L. (2020). Serving their needs: A qualitative examination of nutrition policy implementation in the early care and education setting. Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association, 8(1), 69–78. https://doi.org/10.20429/jgpha.2020.080110
  • Cotwright, C. J., Bradley, H., Celestin, N., Lee, J. S., Hall, J., Stotz, S., & Birch, L. (2020). Determining eLearning preferences to inform beverage policy training for Georgia child-care providers. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 52(7), 732–741. Https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2020.02.020
  • Cotwright, C. J., Bradley, H., Celestin, N., Love, K., & Birch, L. (2018). Policy and practice in ECE: A statewide examination of beverage policy implementation among child-care programs in Georgia. Childhood Obesity, 15(3), 185–193. https://doi.org/10.1089/chi.2018.00101
  • Cotwright, C. J., Bales, D. W., Lee, J., Celestin, N., Parrott, K., & Olubajo, B. (2017) Like peas and carrots: Combining wellness policy implementation with classroom education for obesity prevention in the child-care setting. Public Health Reports, 132.(2_Suppl), 74S–80S. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033354917706956
M.P.H., Health Promotion, University of Georgia
B.S., Family and Consumer Sciences - Dietetics, Consumer Foods, University of Georgia