Ximena L. Valdes, M.D. is Dr. Sesser’s wife. Dr. Valdes graduated from the University of Chile Medical School in 1971. A Pediatric residency at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles was followed by a fellowship in Pediatric Cardiology at the University of California in Los Angeles. Dr. Valdes is fluent in Spanish and is Board certified in both Pediatrics and Pediatric Cardiology.

Dr. Valdes practiced Pediatrics and Pediatric Cardiology in Los Angeles for a decade before moving to the San Francisco Bay area, where she joined the Department of Pediatrics of Kaiser Permanente Medical Group for 10 years. She then moved to Louisville, KY where she was Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Children and Youth Project of the University of Louisville, a comprehensive primary care pediatric clinic serving high-risk patients of the Louisville inner-city. Upon moving to Cleveland, Dr. Valdes joined the Global Child Health program at the University Hospital Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital as a Case Western Reserve Associate Professor of Pediatrics, practicing in a Refugee Clinic, assisting during humanitarian emergencies in children and mentoring medical students in rural Peru.

Dr. Valdes is now retired from medical practice and devotes her energy to volunteer activities, serving as docent at the Cleveland Museum of Art and as co-chair of programs for The Print Club of Cleveland. She is also a Trustee of The Temple Tifereth Israel, and a tutor/mentor to children and young adults.