From specialist to COO, her journey reflects discipline, purpose, and a deep commitment to community.
A Calling, Early On
Long before she stepped into leadership at Clínica Romero, Guisela Juarez already had a sense of where her life might lead. She was nine years old.
Her mother, a science teacher continuing her own education in El Salvador, would bring Guisela and her siblings to the university after school. While her mother attended biology and chemistry labs, Guisela sat nearby, taking it all in. The lesson that stayed with her didn’t come from a textbook, it came from her mom: Whatever you choose to do, make sure you are helping others.
“That stayed with me,” she says. “From a young age, I knew I wanted to serve people, especially those who didn’t always have access to care.”
Seeing What Was Missing
During her summers volunteering in medical brigades in El Salvador, she saw the reality up close, children with preventable conditions, families navigating illness without support, entire communities without consistent access to care.
“It was shocking,” she says. “When you’re inside those communities, you see the real impact of not having access. That changed me.”
That experience didn’t just stay with her—it shaped the path she followed.
Her training took her to Cuba, where she studied medicine at the Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina, a program grounded in service to underserved communities, where she graduated with honors, earning a gold diploma and certification as an Instructor of Pediatric Surgery (Outpatient). She later continued her medical education at the Universidad de El Salvador, deepening her connection to the communities she would go on to serve. Her postgraduate training includes epidemiology and healthcare services, along with certifications in public health.
Early in her career, she stepped into leadership roles within El Salvador’s Ministry of Health, as Chief Medical Director supervising four medical directors and for five clinics, an experience that expanded her perspective beyond individual patient care.
“I realized you can impact more people when you strengthen the systems that deliver care,” she says.
By the time she arrived in Los Angeles, she carried both the clinical experience and a growing understanding of how to improve systems. At UCLA, she continued building on that foundation through training for international medical graduates and a healthcare executive program.
So when she found Clínica Romero, the connection was immediate.
“It was the perfect fit,” she says. “It aligned with what I had always hoped to do.”
Rising Through the Work
Guislea is a trained physician whose career has spanned clinical care, public health leadership, and healthcare operations. In 2018, she joined Clinica Romero as a H.I.T. Specialist role , then Compliance and Risk Director, to Director of Operations and within five years, she stepped into the role of Chief Operating Officer. It wasn’t easy, it took hard work, discipline, and a willingness to keep learning.
“When I first became a director, I didn’t think I was ready,” she says. “I knew I could do the work—but there was still so much to learn.” That feeling…imposter syndrome—was real. And in many ways, it still is. “But you learn by doing,” she says. “You find people who will guide you and you keep going.” That mindset stayed with her. It’s part of how she leads today. Throughout her career, she has reached out to women she admired, asking a simple question: How did you get there? “Mentorship is incredibly important,” she says. “Everyone needs a mentor—and everyone can be one.”
For Guisela, leadership has never been about getting to the next position. It’s about making sure others have a way forward too—that’s how the next generation of leaders is built. “You have to send the elevator back down.” Today, she oversees the day-to-day operations of the organization, working across clinical services and programs. Her role touches every part of the clinic, from how patients experience care to how teams work together behind the scenes.
Leadership Under Pressure
That mindset was tested during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like everyone else, she stepped into a moment no one could have prepared for. The days were long. Weekends blurred into weekdays. There was constant coordination, constant need.
Clínica Romero mobilized quickly, eventually delivering more than 20,000 vaccines across the community. But what stayed with her wasn’t the number. It was the people. One moment, in particular, never left her. A medical assistant looked at her and asked, “Don’t you have children? You’re here every weekend.” Guisela remembers the question—and her answer—clearly. “I told her yes,” she says. “And that’s exactly why I’m here.”
Because for her, work was never separate from her life. “When we protect the community, we protect our own families too.” She saw it play out in real time, person by person, family by family. And through it all, there was a shared sense of responsibility. “Everyone showed up,” she says. “From the CEO to the frontline staff. Everyone rolled up their sleeves and did what needed to be done.” She pauses when she reflects on that time. “I felt incredibly proud of our team,” she says. “And proud that I could show up for the community when it mattered most.”
The Way She Leads
Guisela is a career physician, a leader, but she is also a mother, a wife, a daughter, and a sister. Like many women in leadership, she carries responsibilities across every part of her life. “I don’t believe balance really exists,” she says with a smile. “Instead, you triage.”
Each day starts with figuring out what matters most—what needs attention now, and what can wait. “Sometimes things don’t go as planned,” she says. “But you focus on what matters most.” “It’s teamwork,” she adds.
The skills she’s built at home: adaptability, patience, the ability to shift quickly, carry into how she leads. “As women, we’re always moving between responsibilities,” she says. “That becomes a strength.”
What She Leaves Behind
Her daughter once told her, “I wish I was as smart as you.” Guisela reminds her of something she now carries into every space she leads: You already have what you need, you just have to believe it. Health is about more than medicine,” she says. “It’s about exposure to experiences, access to knowledge, and the ability for families to grow and thrive.”
At home, that philosophy guides how she raises her own children. Her daughter attends activities that range from arts to cultural experiences, sometimes outside her comfort zone. “The goal is exposure,” she explains. “You don’t know what will inspire a child until they experience it.” For her, empowerment begins with possibility. And possibility begins with access.
When asked to describe herself, she chooses a word that doesn’t fully translate into English: Solidaria.
Someone who doesn’t just feel empathy, but acts on it. Because for Guisela, impact is not measured by how far you go, but by how many you bring with you.
What does it mean to serve the community as a woman at Clínica Romero?
..She pauses for a moment. Then she smiles. “It feels like the right place to be,” she says. The clinic’s mission, serving these families aligns with the values that shaped her from childhood. “Being part of that mission means everything to me,” she says. “We’re not just providing healthcare, we are so much more.”
