Dr. Betancur was born and raised in Medellin, Colombia, where she completed her undergraduate studies in linguistics and literature. In 2002 she moved to Spain to complete a master's in literary analysis at the University of Granada. For the last sixteen years she has lived in the United States.
She graduated from the University of Arizona’s doctoral program in Spanish with a focus on Hispanic American literature. During her years as a graduate student in the Spanish department she had the opportunity to teach all of the classes that constitute the basic program and the minor. She currently works as Assistant Director to the Online Program for the Department of Spanish and Portuguese.