Dr. Yolangel “Yogi” Hernandez Suarez, former Chief Medical Officer of FIU’s HealthCare Network, has been named to the FIU Foundation Board of Directors.
Hernandez Suarez and her husband, Dr. Jeffrey “Jeff” Simmons, recently made a $2 million gift to FIU’s Next Horizon campaign to establish the Simmons+Hernandez Suarez Fellowship Program at FIU Embrace. The fellowship supports professionals who take an interdisciplinary approach to solve the complex, multifaceted issues facing adults with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism. FIU Embrace is one of the only university-based programs in the nation to promote the health, wellness and overall functioning for adults with neurodevelopmental disorders. She and her husband are among the founders of the university-wide initiative.
“As a longtime member of the FIU family, I am excited and privileged to serve on the FIU Foundation board,” Hernandez Suarez said. “As a physician, I look forward to further enhancing FIU’s commitment to the health of our community. It was very meaningful for Jeffrey and me to make a gift to FIU in this critical area.”
Hernandez Suarez is Vice President of Clinical Innovation at Conviva Care Solutions. The company represents nearly 300 physician practices, 800 clinicians and 300,000 patients, offering tools and support to help deliver holistic, compassionate and innovative care. She was honored by the South Florida Business Journal as one of South Florida’s most Influential Business Women of 2012.
From 2010 to 2017, Hernandez Suarez held a number of positions with the FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine: Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs. In her capacity as Chief Medical Officer of the FIU HealthCare Network, the university’s faculty group practice, she was instrumental in expanding outpatient clinical services to the community.
“We are grateful for the phenomenal contributions Yogi has made to our FIU as a faculty member, and through she and Jeffrey’s gift to establish a fellowship program at FIU Embrace, which supports our Next Horizon campaign goal of advancing a vibrant, healthy community,” said Kenneth G. Furton, FIU Provost and Executive Vice President. “We are honored to have her join the FIU Foundation board, where she brings a depth of knowledge and experience that is valuable for our university’s continued progress.”
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About FIU Foundation, Inc.:
Established in 1969, the Florida International University Foundation, Inc. (FIU Foundation) is registered by the State of Florida as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. As defined in Florida Statute section 1004.28, the FIU Foundation has also been certified as a Direct Support Organization (DSO) of Florida International University. Governed by a board of directors, the FIU Foundation serves to encourage, solicit, receive, and ethically administer gifts for scientific, educational, and charitable purposes for the advancement of FIU. Through philanthropy, the FIU Foundation provides the margin of excellence that makes FIU a Worlds Ahead institution.
About the Next Horizon campaign:
FIU’s Next Horizon campaign is a landmark effort to support key areas of need and opportunity that focuses on the pillars of student success and research preeminence. The $750 million campaign aims to attract support to: increase scholarships and student support; optimize 21st-century teaching; advance a vibrant, healthy Miami; accelerate research and discoveries; and escalate discovery to enterprise. For more information, visit NextHorizon.fiu.edu.