Susmita Sarki

CHW / Enrollment Navigator

Susmita Sarki brings deep cultural insight, professional expertise, and unwavering commitment to her role on Hamot Health Foundation’s street outreach team. Originally from Nepal and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania, she combines lived experience with advanced training to help individuals navigate complex health and social systems with dignity and confidence.

Susmita holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Sport and Exercise Science, with a minor in Nutrition, from Gannon University. During the COVID-19 pandemic, while completing her graduate studies, she served as a Lead Community Health Worker, providing education, testing, vaccination support, and health disparity mitigation to under-resourced communities. This experience solidified her passion for community-based care and systems navigation.

Since joining HHF in November 2023, Susmita has served as an Enrollment Navigator and Community Health Worker, assisting uninsured and underinsured individuals with healthcare access while addressing critical social determinants of health. Through her outreach work, she has developed a deep understanding of how housing instability, limited resources, and literacy barriers affect individuals’ ability to engage in care. Her approach is shaped by empathy, patience, and consistency, allowing her to build trust with individuals who may feel overwhelmed or excluded by traditional systems.

Susmita is bilingual in Nepali and English and is a strong advocate for Erie’s New American and immigrant communities. She regularly volunteers in food rescue efforts, supports overflow shelters, and responds to community needs beyond formal work hours—whether assisting with intake, organizing donations, or filling last-minute gaps in service.

Colleagues and participants alike recognize Susmita for her calm presence, cultural humility, and ability to make people feel safe and respected. She strives to understand not only visible challenges, but also the quiet barriers and unspoken fears that hold individuals back from health, stability, and opportunity. Her dedication, insight, and relational strength make her a vital contributor to HHF’s nurse-led outreach model.