Susana Samaniego was born in Washington, D.C.  After a charmed childhood in the nation’s capital, she moved to Chicago, IL, for her undergraduate studies at the University of Chicago, where she spent her junior year abroad in Seville, Spain.  A double major in Biological Sciences and Spanish Literature prepared her not at all for her time after college as a Hollywood nanny in Los Angeles, CA, but it did help her figure out that she wanted to be a doctor.  So, she returned to the midwest to attend the Chicago Medical School, where she fell in love with surgery.  She completed her Surgical Residency at New York Medical College/Westchester Medical Center, and decided to practice General Surgery as a locum tenens physician, traveling to underserved communities across the United States in need of surgical services. Growing up as a first-generation American, with parents who emigrated from Paraguay in South America, Susana was fortunate enough to begin traveling the globe at a very young age. In her travels, she began to understand the disparities in access to basic necessities, including healthcare, across different populations and socioeconomic groups.  This inspired her to pursue a career not only in healthcare but also global health.  From free medical clinics in Chicago to rural surgery in Ecuador to Orthopedic Surgery in Taiwan and Urology in India, she has volunteered at home and abroad to help those in need.  She is excited to join the HEAL team and learn how to continue to provide access to care to the most vulnerable populations. Susana will serve at Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock, NM, and Companeros en Salud in Chiapas, Mexico.