Esperanza C. Sanchez was born in Peru. Her mother is a South American Native, Quechua speaking and her late father was a mestizo. She grew up seeing the disparity between the natives and non natives in Peru. She was exposed to the needs of the community by her mother who was a nurse in Lima, Peru. Since little, she wanted to become a doctor to take care of her people. During the terrorism in Peru, her entire family left Peru and moved to the USA in search of the American dream. Esperanza went to Passaic Community College in Paterson NJ initially where she learned English and started taking college classes. Later, she transferred to Rutgers University where she major in Biology and Biochemistry. Her dream of becoming a doctor became a reality when she was accepted to Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in 1996. She graduated medical school in May 2000 and started an Emergency Medicine Residency in New York Medical College Metropolitan Hospital in 2000. After finishing residency, she thought about the ideal work place, where she could practice medicine and serve a community in need. Esperanza had done an elective in IHS in her 4th year of medical school in Chinle, AZ and that experience created her desire to someday work with IHS. In August 11th 2003, she started her job at Gallup Indian Medical Center and has been there since then. She enjoys her family, hiking, camping and traveling. She is excited to embark on this journey.