Yolangel Hernandez Suarez, MD

Dr. Yolangel (Yogi) Hernandez Suarez has spent almost three decades as a physician leader creating value for patients, clinicians, shareholders, and learners through innovative public and private partnerships and inclusive practice models. She is practicing at CHI’s Martin Luther King Jr. Clinica Campesina.

Dr. Hernandez Suarez graduated from Swarthmore College and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She trained in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics. Dr. Hernandez Suarez holds a Master of Business Administration with specialization in Health Administration and Policy from the University of Miami.

Her career is highlighted by “tough” assignments, launching or re-engineering complex systems within governmental, academic, and clinical environments. Her first role in physician leadership was in the Jackson Health System, the county safety net for Miami, Florida, where she served as Chief Administrative Officer of Ambulatory Services. Dr. Hernandez Suarez was Chief Medical Officer for Humana’s Care Delivery Unit, supervising the care of over 100,000 seniors in Florida and Texas. She has held various leadership roles at Florida International University (FIU), a top 50 public university with over 50,000 students. She was the founding Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Clinical Affairs at FlU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and spent two years in the Office of the Provost as Vice Provost for Population Health and Well-being, leading FIU’s COVID Response Team. She most recently served as Executive Vice Dean at Alice Walton School of Medicine in Bentonville, Arkansas, helping to launch the inaugural class.

Dr. Hernandez Suarez has also held national positions within the Association of American Medical Colleges as Chair of the Southern Group on Student Affairs and as a board member for the National Hispanic Medical Association. She is trained in communication for governance and media. She is the President of MD Leadership, a consulting firm focused on supporting physicians in executive positions across healthcare sectors.

She is married to Dr. Jeffrey D. Simmons, Corporate Medical Director at Humana; they have adult twins on the autism spectrum. Drs. Simmons and Hernandez Suarez are advocates for adults with developmental disabilities and endowed the Simmons+Hernandez Suarez fellowship at FIU that trains future clinicians and administrators to champion the needs of people with disabilities.