In a world of excess, often the solution isn’t “more”. I believe that the most effective way to impart change is not creating something new, but rather harnessing existing resources and systems more effectively. To this end, I strive to approach surgical systems strengthening from a lens of humility, to understand existing barriers from the patients and providers who experience them, and to partner with country leaders to improve access and quality of surgical care worldwide.As a plastic and reconstructive surgery trainee and concurrent global surgery / perioperative health equity fellow with Operation Smile and UCSF’s Center for Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia (CHESA), I have gained valuable insights into improving surgical care for vulnerable populations. My work has taken me to sites in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, where I have studied environmental determinants of health, surgical care delivery, and partnered with local ministries to analyze existing surgical systems to inform strategies for national surgical planning.My academic interests focus on global health monitoring and developing data ecosystems in low-income settings to improve the delivery of surgical care. I have research experience in data simulation techniques aimed at reducing the burden of data collection at the national level and contributed to measuring global progress in surgical volume reporting to inform the World Bank’s surgical indicator data collection project, enhancing the global understanding of access to surgery and perioperative outcomes.Throughout and beyond my training, I am committed to building relationships within the global surgical community to better realize the needs of partner countries, to understand operational strategies required to impart change from grassroots initiatives to national public health policies, and to share lessons learned with the global community through scholarship and advocacy.