John Betancourt is the Family Service Manager at Memorial Park Funeral Home & Cemetery and Griggs-Schooler-Gordon Funeral Directors, which is part of Dignity Memorial. He additionally is a professional photographer and owns and operates Illusions Studio and Media Group.  

When, on May 1, 2021 he was elected to a six-year term on the AC Board of Regents, Betancourt became the first Hispanic male to serve on the Board in almost 30 years. His AC Board service includes participation on the East Gateway Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone Board; the Community College Association of Texas of Texas Trustees Engagement Committee; and the Panhandle PBS Advisory Board. He also holds membership with the Texas Chicanos in Higher Education.

Previously a member of the Amarillo ISD Board of Trustees, Betancourts advocacy for public education has allowed him to represent Region 16 as President of the Panhandle Area School Board Association and service on the Texas Association of School Boards Legislative Advisory Council. He additionally has served as a state director for the Mexican American School Board Association, and on the Amarillo Downtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone Board.

In 2018, he was awarded the Excellence in Education Award for his continuous support and commitment to the youth of Amarillo and the educational goals and objectives of the Amarillo Branch NAACP.

In 2021, he was named the Hispanic Man of the Year by Los Barrios de Amarillo at the 50th Anniversary and Awards Celebration Reflection on the Past, Looking to the Future during Hispanic Heritage Month. 

Betancourt has served on many civic and non-profit boards, such as United Way of Amarillo & Canyon, Maverick Boys & Girls Club, Los Barrios de Amarillo, Barrio Neighborhood Planning Committee, and Amarillo Area CASA.

Betancourt attended Amarillo College and Wayland Baptist University. He possesses a certification in Supply Chain Negotiations from Amarillo College, certification in Federal Contract Management from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and a Preneed and Life Agent License by the Texas Department of Insurance.