Her Story
About Dr.
My nursing career began in 2001 as a first-generation college graduate from a single-parent household. I identify as a Chicana, with my mother being a first-generation Cuban-American and my father having Indigenous Mexican heritage. Growing up on the Gulf Coast of Texas, I didn't speak Spanish initially, but during my pediatric nursing rotation, I witnessed Spanish-speaking parents struggling to communicate with healthcare teams about their hospitalized children, which ignited my passion to become bilingual and advocate for these families. I earned my associate's degree in nursing from a local community college through scholarships, then my bachelor's degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch while working at Texas Children's Hospital. At 23, I did mission work in Ecuador for 6 months, where I became immersed in Spanish and learned profound lessons in cultural humility. I completed my master's degree as a pediatric nurse practitioner in 2008 from UTMB, and my first role was with Baylor College of Medicine on a Texas Children's mobile unit providing free healthcare to uninsured children. I've worked in federally qualified health centers, started a school-based clinic in South Houston with Memorial Hermann, and spent a year volunteering with my husband and three children in the Dominican Republic. Since 2016, I've worked at UTMB in the Department of Dermatology, where I was recruited specifically because of my bilingual skills and pediatric scope of practice, even though I had no prior dermatology experience. I completed my Doctor of Nursing Practice in 2022, pursuing this terminal degree because I'm passionate about inspiring the next generation and potentially moving into academia. Throughout my career, I've focused on serving underserved populations, particularly those on Medicaid, and I use my Spanish every single day to help families feel heard and understood in their healthcare journey.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Dr.
01What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I really feel that there's so much work that needs to be done to have more representation and to engage more young Latino students to pursue careers in healthcare. There's a lack of representation for Latinos, especially in nursing, and I don't see enough representation even in my professional organizations. The higher I've gotten in my level of education in nursing, the more disheartened I've become in nursing faculty as far as how accepting they are with others - I feel like there's a lack of diversity in nursing faculty. I'm hoping that will change. When I go into the room and ask a parent if they speak Spanish, you can just feel the tension leave the room because there's this sigh of relief that someone speaks their language. We need to do more to create opportunities and engage more young Latino students to pursue careers in healthcare so that patients can have providers who understand their language and culture.
02What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Being driven and grateful for opportunities to break barriers through education has been central to my journey as a first-generation college graduate. Cultural humility is extremely important to me - I learned so much about this during my mission work in Ecuador, which was a life-changing, stretching experience professionally, spiritually, and personally. I'm committed to advocacy and making sure there's representation for people like myself and creating space for my beautiful brown daughter and others like her. I believe in always hoping to inspire and be inspired by others, which is why I work at an academic teaching institution - I enjoy being in that place of always learning, growing, and inspiring the next generation. At this stage of my life, raising three children while pursuing my career in pediatrics, it's important to me to invest in work that makes a meaningful impact and helps families feel heard and understood in their healthcare journey.
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