A Heart for Healing: Verlinda Montoya
H&K Alumna Spent Her Life Championing Inclusive Medical Practices
By Sarah Shebek
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Verlinda Montoya, RN, MS, MHSA, had the gift of healing in her blood, and she spent her life using her talents to serve indigenous and underserved communities.
An elder, medicine woman and spiritual leader, Montoya used a dual master’s degree program from the College of Health to open a first of its kind agency providing integrative and inclusive medicine services.
Heart of Humanity is based in Marin County, California and Montoya privately owned it for 27 years. She and a team of licensed professionals—nurses, therapists, social workers— provide quality, compassionate, and affordable medical and non-medical care across several counties in Central California.
As an adult, Montoya discovered she was Tiwa and Hopi, with Aztec ancestry. As she explored Native culture, she trained in the Lakota traditions and protocol to become a medicine woman. Her spiritual name is Mato Ta Pejuta Wakan Najin, or “Bear Medicine Standing Sacred.”
“I really believe in natural healing,” she said. “I believe there are ways we can support our mind, body, and spirit, and those are very important in looking at the whole person. When I made the decision to start Heart of Humanity, it was critically important that those were all addressed.”
The vision for Heart for Humanity came to Montoya in a dream, which is very significant in Native American culture. In the dream, she walked into a large office building and found a sign listing Heart for Humanity. She followed the sign and was welcomed by her grandchildren and a diverse group of people from all backgrounds. At the end, she walked out as CEO.
“I woke up and knew I had the name of the company,” she said. “I believe my ancestors used that dream to say, ‘go start your own company.’”
Over the years, Montoya used Heart for Humanity to serve thousands of community members who wanted or needed access to non-traditional culturally appropriate health care.
“I remember a client we had who was Spanish speaking only,” Montoya said. “He had diabetes but would not comply with taking his medication because he believed the only way to heal was through a Curandera, a healer from his country. We were able to find someone who lived two blocks down the street and set up an all-night ceremony for this gentleman. The very next day he started taking his insulin—we catered to his culture and his belief system, and it was just what he needed.”
Before Heart for Humanity, Montoya was a single mother who was searching for a lifelong career. After working several administrative jobs with her nursing degree from the University, she was ready to impact change on a broader scale. That meant going back to school to pursue a master’s degree, and the College of Health was the perfect fit.
“I ended up in a dual master’s program in health services administration and public health, with this amazing opportunity,” she said. “The university allowed me to go in any direction I wanted and allowed me to take the courses that would point me in that direction.”
Montoya designed her own program, based in anthropology and cross-cultural healing rituals. She incorporated culturally-appropriate healthcare and worked to combine her Native American roots with Western medicine.
“My degree program was very well rounded and gave me the skills I needed to know to run a company,” she said.
A few years later, Montoya went from working out of a car trunk to her own office as Heart for Humanity was born. The dream came true.
“I truly never thought I’d own my own company,” Montoya said. “I never thought I’d be a spokesperson, but I believe that the classes I took and the way they nurtured us in my program prepared me to grow as a practitioner.”
Sadly, Montoya passed away after a battle with cancer at the end of 2023. But not before the University of Utah awarded her with a Founders Day Distinguished Alumni Award for her outstanding public service. Montoya’s family accepted the award on her behalf in February.
“She was a good person, very dedicated to helping others and the spiritual side of healing,” said Carrie Montoya, her daughter. “She was very strong-willed and I’m so proud of what she became.”
“I truly never thought I’d own my own company or be a spokesperson. But I believe that the classes I took and the way they nurtured us in my program prepared me to grow as a practitioner.”
Montoya's Impact
- Commissioner, Novato District, Novato California
- Chair, Marin Women’s Commission, Seven Circles Foundation, Grassroots Leadership Network and Heart of Humanity Foundation
- President, Utah Association of Home Health Agencies
- Martin Luther King Humanitarian award 1999
- Women of Wisdom, Passion & Vision 1999
- Marin’s Outstanding Community Worker 2000
- Certificate of Appreciation from the California State Senate and State Assembly
- Board of Supervisors Commendation & Resolution
- State Senate Resolution
