JD Beltran

Job title: 
Artist/Filmmaker, Inventor, Journalist, Writer, Designer, Educator, Creativity Cheerleader, and Founder/Director of Center for Creative Sustainability
Bio/CV: 
JD Beltran is an award-winning creative, journalist, and policymaker with extensive experience in design & technology, sustainability, culture, and art. She is the Founder & Director of the Center for Creative Sustainability consultancy in San Francisco and is a professor in Design at San Francisco State University.
Beltran's work has won myriad awards, having been exhibited worldwide including at the Walker Art Center, the San Francisco MOMA, Ars Electronica in Austria, The Getty Center, The Kitchen, New York, and the MIT Media Lab. Her work was deemed a top Art+Technology work worldwide by the NTAA, landed an Innovation Award at CES, and has been reviewed in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, and Wired. She's been awarded grants by Artadia, the Creative Capital/Warhol Foundation, and Stochastic Labs.

Beltran recently was appointed as a member of the Consumer Technology Association's Technology Council Responsible AI Advisory Group and has been a longtime member of the Consumer Technology's Entertainment and Content Council, addressing the consumer product pipeline with respect to the needs of artists, content creators and the creative workforce.

Beltran's Center for Creative Sustainability, founded in 2019, cultivates and implements collaborations, initiatives, and legislation towards social and environmental sustainability. On Earth Day 2020, she launched Do1Act.org, a collaboration with municipal agencies and non-profits to educate the public on how changes in consumer and individual behavior are critical in addressing the climate crisis. Beltran also directed the Center for Impact pilot at California College of the Arts from 2017-19, fostering sustainability through the lens of art & design.

She also has been a journalist for over a decade, having penned columns on Bay Area art & culture for SF.Gate.com, the Huffington Post, Alta Journal, Fabrik, and Visual Art Source. A longtime educator, she has taught at not only SFSU, but California College of the Arts and the San Francisco Art Institute.

Beltran has served on the San Francisco Arts Commission since 2009 (President from 2011-2018) and was recognized by San Francisco Mayor London Breed for her exceptional public service by declaring December 3, 2018 "JD Beltran Day in San Francisco."

Although she now only runs a few miles daily with her beloved dogs Sophie and Shadow, she also was formerly an elite runner for Nike, having achieved the world record for running the fastest marathon for her age as a female marathoner when she was seventeen.
JD Beltran is an award-winning creative, journalist, and policymaker with extensive experience in design & technology, sustainability, culture, and art. She is the Founder & Director of the Center for Creative Sustainability consultancy in San Francisco and is a professor in Design at San Francisco State University. Beltran's work has won myriad awards, having been exhibited worldwide including at the Walker Art Center, the San Francisco MOMA, Ars Electronica in Austria, The Getty Center, The Kitchen, New York, and the MIT Media Lab. Her work was deemed a top Art+Technology work worldwide by the NTAA, landed an Innovation Award at CES, and has been reviewed in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, and Wired. She's been awarded grants by Artadia, the Creative Capital/Warhol Foundation, and Stochastic Labs. Beltran recently was appointed as a member of the Consumer Technology Association's Technology Council Responsible AI Advisory Group and has been a longtime member of the Consumer Technology's Entertainment and Content Council, addressing the consumer product pipeline with respect to the needs of artists, content creators and the creative workforce. Beltran's Center for Creative Sustainability, founded in 2019, cultivates and implements collaborations, initiatives, and legislation towards social and environmental sustainability. On Earth Day 2020, she launched Do1Act.org, a collaboration with municipal agencies and non-profits to educate the public on how changes in consumer and individual behavior are critical in addressing the climate crisis. Beltran also directed the Center for Impact pilot at California College of the Arts from 2017-19, fostering sustainability through the lens of art & design. She also has been a journalist for over a decade, having penned columns on Bay Area art & culture for SF.Gate.com, the Huffington Post, Alta Journal, Fabrik, and Visual Art Source. A longtime educator, she has taught at not only SFSU, but California College of the Arts and the San Francisco Art Institute. Beltran has served on the San Francisco Arts Commission since 2009 (President from 2011-2018) and was recognized by San Francisco Mayor London Breed for her exceptional public service by declaring December 3, 2018 "JD Beltran Day in San Francisco."
Although she now only runs a few miles daily with her beloved dogs Sophie and Shadow, she also was formerly an elite runner for Nike, having achieved the world record for running the fastest marathon for her age as a female marathoner when she was seventeen.