Lifestyle

Deisy Suarez-Giles on Beauty, Female Empowerment and Philanthropy

Published

5 years ago

November 17, 2020

The beauty and spa industry is inarguably cut-throat. It’s no easy feat for newcomers who are trying to make their name in cosmetics and skincare arena, when you’re competing with beauty giants who have been decades-long key players of the game. But Deisy Suarez-Giles braved the odds and came out on top with her namesake label.

A believer that she is more than just a businesswoman, she built her company for reasons tied closely to her core values — inspiring and empowering individuals through the transformative power of wellness and spa. We caught up with the founder as she has just dipped her toe launching her second DESUAR SPA location in Los Angeles, to discover what success means to the girl boss.

Name: Deisy Suarez-Giles
Profession: Founder and CEO of DESUAR SPA, AUTHOR and PHILANTHROPIST
Start up since: 2010

Tell us about your business. What do you do?

I like to believe that I am able to be part of something bigger in my role as the Founder and CEO of DESUAR SPA, esthetician and philanthropist. The brand was founded with the intention of inspiring and empowering individuals through the transformative power of spa and wellness.

Wellness Spa provides a universal language of happiness, self-love and creativity, and I learned this through my philanthropic work. I had the unique opportunity to volunteer at the Living Water Children’s Centre in Tanzania, Africa where I applied my touch therapy to healing orphan children.

DESUAR Spa has continued to grow, providing clinically proven skincare procedures, ultrasonic, chemical peels & microdermabrasion facials, and Suarez-Giles’ very own “secret” body scrub formula, along with massage treatments, spray tanning, body scrubs, soak rituals, wraps, and waxing services. DESUAR Spa offers healing as well as high-end relaxing treatments fit for royalty, be it massage, waxing, facials, body scrubs, saunas, or even CBD treatments.

DESUAR SPA encourages self-love, inner power and realizes the different definitions and expressions of beauty and wellness: each product and service is designed with unique aspirational affirmations, so that the individual feels uplifted when using our products or services.

Tell me about your best and worst day at work?

As an entrepreneur, no one day is exactly the same, but my favorite kind of days are the ones in which I am able to feel and see that my services are serving as a source of confidence.

My so-called worst days are the ones where I feel I need two of me and more hours in a single day. I am extremely hands on with all areas of the business from concept development to product formulation, management and distribution to ensure every addition to the DESUAR SPA portfolio speaks true to our values: to empower and inspire all those who use our services and products.

Looking back now, what would you have done differently?

I’m a big believer in everything happens for a reason. I always believe that every failure shouldn’t be labeled as a failure, but rather a step towards being a better version of yourself. If I have to do it again, I will do it the same all over again.

What is a normal work day like?

While I wouldn’t categorize this as a ‘normal’ workday, I’d say my days usually consist of: speaking with my staff, liaising with, working on new formulations and products, creating new menu, and engaging with my community via social media.

What advice would you give to someone looking to start up?

Starting something up is one of the most fulfilling, but also one of the most challenging things you will do. It will push you to your utmost limits, but will also be unbelievably gratifying. My advice would be to take a chance on yourself, set your sights on the goals you want to accomplish, believe in yourself no matter what anyone else says and take the first step in the right direction. Never stop learning, continuing education is a must to be able to stay current to new trends and changes in consumer behavior.

What are your goals for 2020? And in the near future?

It’s full speed ahead at the moment in terms of expansion and growth in order to be accessible to our customer. We are also working on several new products to add to the collection. I aim to launch my Skin Care products, along with my second book as an author called “Holy Skin”, in December 2020. Lastly, I am fully involved in my new outdoor spa concept, in order to adapt to the new normal and be able to continually provide wellness services that people need and want. Especially now during these difficult times.

How hands-on are you?

Extremely! I’m involved in every aspect of the business from hiring, training, management, conceptualization to formulation and distribution. Every service that is in our spa has been inspired by my experiences through my philanthropy, travels around the world, and as an esthetician and massage therapist. With that being said, I am very fortunate to have a team that I can consult with and support in making each product and wellness treatment a reality.

How do you define success? Do you consider yourself being successful?

My definition of success is being able to make someone feel empowered and indestructibly confident in themselves, be it through the application of one of our services or through my voice.At this very moment in time, I would say that success is a journey and I still believe that for myself, there is more to come.

With her entrepreneurial spirit and emphasis on education, it is no surprise that Suarez-Giles has been featured in Forbes, LA Magazine, Entertainment Tonight, NBC, ABC News, Zoe Report, Voyage LA, Spa Insider, Well and Away, DTLA Weekly, LA Magazine, Medium, Thrive Global, and MTV. She has also worked with many Hollywood celebrities and sports figures. Success is important to Suarez-Giles but philanthropy also has an important place in her life.

Lifestyle

Kat Marie Alvarez: Where Innovation Meets Regulation

Published

2 days ago

January 23, 2026

Michelle Langton

Regulation is often thought of as a limitation, yet in healthcare, it also serves as a foundation for building models that endure. For Kat Marie Alvarez, Founder and CEO of KATALYST & CO, the framework of rules established by agencies like CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid) and the OIG ( office of the Inspector General) create opportunities to design systems that are compliant, ethical, and transformative. Her approach demonstrates that regulation can be a platform for innovation when it is interpreted with both technical rigor and vision.

Kat’s 25-year career reflects this philosophy. A former nurse who advanced into executive leadership and strategy, she has led $2.7B+ P&L operations, advised on over $5B in healthcare transactions, and guided value based organizations including Innovacare, Cano Health, WellMed, Centene, and Humana through periods of exponential scaling. Her perspective combines clinical, financial, and regulatory experience, giving her a unique ability to design structures that support integrity and accountability while driving measurable outcomes.

Turning Statutes into Strategy

For Kat, regulation serves as a framework for building smarter and more ethical models. She interprets CMS guidance and OIG rules as levers for innovation, using them to advance integrity and accountability. With the CMS V28 risk adjustment model, Alvarez refined coding practices, strengthened clinical documentation, and structured risk frameworks that reward accuracy and elevate standards of care. In addressing RADV audits, she crafted strategies that protect stakeholders while keeping patient outcomes at the forefront. She aligns compliance, cost, and care in equal measure. Her current work as a contributor to the CMS IDea Challenge, an initiative focused on strengthening the foundation of trust in our system, further echoes her commitment to advancing regulations in ways that unlock innovation while safeguarding the integrity of care.

Her interpretive approach brings discipline and vision to every challenge. She engages stakeholders to redesign workflows that meet regulatory requirements and enhance the patient experience. Each policy becomes a mechanism to strengthen accountability and operational precision, shaping a system that is both compliant and humane.

Innovation Built Within Boundaries

At KATALYST & CO, this interpretive approach is carried into every project. Kat has integrated predictive analytics and AI-driven tools into care models, with safeguards that ensure interventions remain clinician-led and ethically sound. For example, AI flags in chronic disease management are connected to human-led actions that improve patient care. The result is a model that benefits from technology while preserving accountability and clinical integrity.

Staffing and infrastructure provide another example of her philosophy in action. By leveraging offshore BPO operations in Latin America, Asia, and Eastern Europe, KATALYST & CO extends capacity for health plans and providers. These expansions are carefully designed to meet data security, licensure, and jurisdictional requirements, ensuring that global reach is paired with local compliance. It is a system that balances scale with responsibility.

The Art of Influence Through Alignment

Kat often describes her role as translating complexity into clarity. Whether she is working with payers, providers, or investors, she builds consensus by grounding ambitious strategies in the language of statute. Value-based care models, utilization management programs, and clinical frameworks are designed to prove compliant ROI for stakeholders while maintaining patient focus.

Her approach begins with people. In integrations, partnerships, and platform builds, she respects legacy strengths, listens to frontline voices, and creates systems that are not only efficient but also trusted. This ensures that compliance does not feel like restriction, but like a structure that supports innovation and adoption.

Redefining the Future of Compliance and Care

KATALYST & CO is scaling with $10M in initial funding, expanded international operations, and a growing advisory portfolio. Under Kat’s leadership, the firm is showing how regulation can be a foundation for both innovation and durability. She demonstrates that lasting progress in healthcare is achieved by leaders who know how to design systems that are bold, ethical, and deeply human.

By approaching regulation as a guide rather than a limitation, Kat Alvarez is building models that prove compliance and innovation can move forward together. Her formula ensures that the future of healthcare is shaped not only by ambition, but also by trust and responsibility.