A Voice for the Voiceless

Nathalie Angulo transformed a personal family crisis into a professional mission to advocate for patients By Sophie Roberts

Nathalie Angulo (B22, M25) has built her career around a simple but powerful calling: to be a voice for those who feel unheard.

Today, she’s living out that calling at Salem Health, where she serves as a patient services manager and leads teams focused on providing language access, patient advocacy and spiritual care.

“My teams stand beside people on some of the hardest days of their lives, and my job is to make sure they have the tools, processes and support to do that well,” she says. “I see myself as a bridge-builder.”

It’s work rooted in her own experience.

At 13, Angulo immigrated with her family from Costa Rica to Oregon. Adjusting to a new culture and language was overwhelming, and she often chose silence over the risk of being misunderstood. That experience would later shape her life’s work in ways she couldn’t yet see.

Years later, when her mother was diagnosed with cancer, Angulo found herself stepping into the roles of interpreter and advocate. She watched her mother struggle to navigate a complicated healthcare system in her second language. The experience revealed how isolating those moments can be – and how critical it is to have someone present who can help you understand, be understood and make informed decisions.

“Many of the clinicians caring for my mom took the time to slow down, explain things clearly, and make sure we truly understood,” Angulo says. “Their patience meant so much. Even during the confusing moments, I felt supported – not only by my family, but by the medical team who cared for my mom with so much compassion.”

The experience proved to be a turning point. Her family decided to open adult care homes, serving elderly and disabled residents. In those spaces, Angulo saw firsthand the importance of dignity, empathy and clear communication in caregiving. What began as helping where she was needed gradually took shape as a vocation.

In 2014, she joined Salem Health as an interpreter. The role was a natural fit. For Angulo, interpretation was never just about translating words. It was about ensuring meaning wasn’t lost, that patients could fully participate in their care, and that their voices carried weight in critical decisions.

“Sometimes it was someone having a baby, or it was someone receiving very sad news,” she says. “But just to know that we were there to bridge that gap – to help them make decisions and have autonomy – is meaningful to me.”

Angulo ultimately landed a role as language access services manager in 2020, guiding her team through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. She helped implement new systems to ensure patients remained connected to care and communication, even in isolation. Through it all, her approach stayed grounded in empathy, always asking what patients and families needed most in moments of vulnerability.

As her responsibilities grew, so did her desire to lead well, which led her to George Fox. After earning an associate degree, Angulo enrolled in the university’s Accelerated Online Degree program, completing her bachelor’s in organizational leadership in 2022. There, she found a community that encouraged her to speak up, develop confidence, and see her experiences as strengths rather than limitations.

That encouragement didn’t end with her undergraduate degree. In 2024, she returned to George Fox to pursue an MBA. Through the program’s cohort model and collaborative discussions, Angulo sharpened her strategic thinking and leadership skills. Just as importantly, she continued to grow personally. The experience stretched her beyond her comfort zone and deepened her sense of purpose. It also reinforced her belief that leadership is not just about managing teams, but removing barriers – creating systems where every patient, regardless of language or background, can be heard and valued.

Today, that vision defines her work.

“Watching my team champion equity with passion makes the work incredibly rewarding,” she says. “It reaffirms just how powerful teamwork can be in healthcare.”