Julie Kurtz

 Julie began her career at the Pittsburgh VA in 2002 and since 2014, she has served as the Chief of NFS at the Phoenix VA, where her leadership has garnered the National NFS Program Office's prestigious Food Service Hall of Fame award in 2020, acknowledging innovative initiatives that substantially enhance the Veteran experience. In recognition of her outstanding contributions, Julie received the Outstanding Clinical Nutrition Leadership award in 2022. Alongside her service chief responsibilities, she has demonstrated exceptional expertise in data automation, recently contributing to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOA) with the NFS Program Office that significantly advanced data architecture, resulting in substantial automation gains and time savings for field facilities. Additionally, her commitment to Food Security initiatives has led to the development and validation of both local and national Food Security dashboards, based on the VA Food Insecurity clinical screen. Julie's remarkable work continues to impact the health and well-being of our Veterans significantly. Her father is an Army Veteran and remains an inspiration for her serving Veterans. 

Julie received her master’s in clinical nutrition from the University of Pittsburgh and is a 2023 graduate of the HCLDP program. In her spare time, Julie has a certification as a Champagne Master and enjoys teaching others about the Champagne landscape and wine making process.