Dr. M. Grisel Galarza is a neonatologist at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and has worked at Holtz Children’s hospital since 1997. She is the medical director of the Intermediate Care NICU, a 70-bed unit. More recently she developed a Neonatal/antenatal specific palliative care program for the division of neonatology.

She was instrumental and championed the Baby Friendly Designation of the entire Jackson Health System. She is also very proud of having developed the Kangaroo Mother Care program in their NICU. She has worked endlessly and passionately in these projects because they promote and protect mother-baby bonding and breastfeeding, her goal for all NICU mothers and babies.

She has been married to Jose Vazquez, also a physician, for almost three decades and is the proud mother of two, now adult children, both of whom sought the Performing Arts as their careers. Her motto in life has always been “Love what you do, and you’ll do it for life”.