Glenda S. Perez is the product of immigrants that risked their lives in pursuit of a better life in America. At the age of 7 she found herself a refugee in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba amongst thousands of others desperate to flee the repressive Castro regime. Today, Dr. Perez is a nurse researcher, educator, and clinical nurse specialist in women’s health. Dr. Perez has worked as a bedside nurse serving the diverse South Florida community for 18 years. Her career began as a certified nursing assistant. She later transitioned to a licensed practical nurse (LPN) course offered at Miami Lakes Educational Center. After high school, she enrolled in an LPN to RN Associate of Science in Nursing program at Miami-Dade Community College. A few years into her nursing practice the young mother of two daughters decided to enroll in the newly created Bachelor of Nursing program at the renamed Miami Dade College. Nursing took her on a journey covering home health, medical surgical, surgical services, and obstetrical nursing. After finding a knack for precepting new nurses, she decided to pursue her Master of Nursing Education, completing it in 2019 from Chamberlain University. As a nurse educator delivering instruction across virtual and in person modalities, she became interested in curriculum development and student centric initiatives that leveraged evidence-based teaching strategies for new generations of learners. Dr. Perez has years of expertise mentoring non-traditional nursing students to achieve their dreams of becoming nurses. She attained her PhD in nursing from Barry University in 2024, after realizing South Florida was a major hub for human trafficking and nurses were often the first line of contact with victims and survivors. As a predoctoral candidate she was awarded the prestigious Judith A. Balcerski Endowed Nursing Scholarship and was inducted as a 2024 Nursing Education Fund Fellow as a recipient of the Johnson & Johnson and Dr. Edwidge Thomas Research Scholarship. She is also an active member of Nurses United Against Human Trafficking and the National Association of Hispanic Nurses. Dr. Perez later pursued SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) training to care and advocate for those affected by human trafficking, sexual assault, and domestic violence in the South Florida community. She continues to serve women as clinical nurse specialist, students as an educator, and the community as an advocate to end human trafficking and violence.