Healers of Tomorrow
What is the HOT program?
Healers of Tomorrow is an 8-month mentorship program for high school students who are interested in healthcare careers. Each student is paired with a mentor who is a healthcare professional or pursuing a health profession. Students are exposed to many different fields of healthcare such as, cardiology, emergency medicine, psychology, and traditional medicine. During the program, high school students will work on a community project of their choice with the goal of improving the health and impact of their community. Each student will work closely with their mentors and HOT Coordinators.
This program offers a supportive environment to explore the interests of health careers and community service. Our hope is to build leadership capacity and empower youth through this journey as we explore what it really means to be a healer and youth leader in our community.
- We meet on the first Saturday of each month, where students will have opportunities to interact with various health professionals and collaborate with their peers.
- Each of our students is also tasked with creating and carrying out a health project to improve their community, with support from adult mentors. Examples of such projects include: Community clean-up for Earth Day, "Running is Medicine" event in Jemez Pueblo, and COVID relief for families in Zia.
- This program offers a supportive environment to explore the interests of health careers and community service. Our hope is to build leadership capacity and empower youth through this journey as we explore what it really means to be a healer and youth leader in our community.
- For more information email: jules@lovingservice.us
Connect with us
Healers of Tomorrow Mentee Resources
Healers of Tomorrow Mentor Resources
Healers of Tomorrow Coordinators
Veronica Hutchison
Healers of Tomorrow Coordinator
My name is Veronica Hutchison and I am originally from the outskirts of Santa Fe, NM. I did my undergrad at the University of New Mexico (UNM) and decided to stay here for my medical training. I am currently a 4th year medical student who will be applying for an OB/GYN residency.
For the past 7 years, I have been involved with the Native Health Initiative working mostly with the Running Medicine program but also served as a HOT mentor and now a coordinator! As a first generation college student, I have found mentorship to be extremely valuable. The guidance, inspiration, and role models I have had throughout high school, undergrad, and medical school have been so influential and impactful on my career path to becoming a doctor. I hope that I can give back and help provide similar experiences for the future generation of students in health professions. I am so excited to meet and work with you all. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions! My hobbies include being outdoors and dancing so let me know if you ever want to hang!
Talyia Torres
Healers of Tomorrow Coordinator
Hello and ¡Bienvenidos! My name is Talyia Torres, and I was born and raised in Albuquerque New Mexico. I graduated from UNM in 2021 with my Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry. Currently, I am studying towards an MPH while working as a community engagement coordinator with NM-INSPIRES Community Engagement Core. I love spending my free time with my daughter Isla and husband Augustus.
I am passionate about promoting health equity and equality for indigenous and Hispanic communities throughout New Mexico. I have served as a coordinator for the healers of tomorrow program since 2019 and am excited to meet this year’s cohort!
Kevin Dileanis
Healers of Tomorrow Program Manager
My name is Kevin Costa Dileanis and I grew up in Bosque Farms, NM. I attended NMSU and UNM and I aspire to work in the medical field as a doctor or a physician’s assistant. I have worked in emergency rooms and inpatient clinics in both Albuquerque and Las Cruces. I currently work as an EMT in an emergency room in Albuquerque. I lived in and volunteered delivering medical and dental care in rural South American communities for one year as an impromptu medical assistant. I formerly lived in and worked for the state government of California in a COVID response team in order to give assistance and care to the homeless population of Skid Row in Los Angeles, CA. I have worked as a coordinator for the Healers of tomorrow program since 2019. I enjoy swimming, biking, and running immensely, and I also enjoy baking breakfast treats for my fellow HOT coordinators.
LORENZO SILVA
Healers of Tomorrow Program Manager
Lorenzo Silva is from Albuquerque, NM. He graduated from UNM with a degree in biochemistry and is applying to medical school with an interest in family medicine and community engagement. He has served as a coordinator for the Healers of Tomorrow program since 2018. During this time, Lorenzo developed a passion for positive youth development, mentorship, and education. He teaches general chemistry lab and also served as executive co-director for the 2023 UNM Health Professions Symposium. Outside of academics, Lorenzo enjoys CrossFit, hiking, and Swing Dancing!
Barbara Gutierrez
Healers of Tomorrow Coordinator
Hello! My name is Barbara Gutierrez. I was born and raised in Albuquerque, and I am a member of the Navajo tribe. I am majoring in EMS at UNM and I am currently working on attaining paramedic licensure. My ultimate goal is to become an emergency medicine physician, with a focus on working with tribal communities. Outside of school, I like to sew myself clothes and crochet, as well as take my dog Babels on car rides.
Healers of Tomorrow Participant Spotlight
Emelia Pino
Healers of Tomorrow Participant
Emelia Pino (2019-2020 HOT participant) saw a need within her home community of Zia Pueblo. With her home community on lock down from the pandemic, she wanted to gather educational supplies and games to keep the youth entertained.
Read this UNM article about Emelia!
Emelia became a HOT Coordinator and has been selected for a prestigious national award given out by the National Indian Health Board. She was recognized at the 2020 Heroes in Health Award Gala!
Community-Based Projects
"Dental Bags"-Mia Armijo-Paquin
My project was to help the kids in my community who are younger and have not been very educated on oral health since covid started. Many of the tribal youth programs have shut down so I contacted the NAPRR dentist office and got some supplies for the bags. I gave these to kids 5 to 10 and distributed all 60 bags. I hope the bags help kids understand how important it is to take care of their teeth.
"Zia Tutoring"-Ankit Jaiswal
Zia Tutoring aims to make college more accessible by providing free standardized testing preparation including SAT/ACT prep and AP class preparation
“Normalizing Periods in the Dance Space”-Helena Tran
I donated period products (~300 pads) evenly between the two locations of my dance studio. These products are for all the dancers, and I think this will make it easier for young girls feel less weird about their menstruation. I also made kind notes to be hung up in the bathrooms, just to spread some positivity because sometimes the dance space can have a lot of pressure and toxicity. Finally, I made a little period guidebook, explaining and normalizing different aspects of a period (dealing with PMS/pains, fun facts…). I wrote with an engaging and kind style in hopes of influencing kids to be nicer to their selves and their peers during their phase of development.
"Mental Health Matters" -Kahleya Chapman & Hallie Cornfield
The goal of our project was to give resources to the community of who to reach out to when they're in times of need. We used interactive methods like writing in journals, sticky notes, and crating a fun glitter breathing activity. We also had a guess speaker, Karen Waconda, speak about the traditional aspects of mental health. We closed with a reflection and a meal.
Healers of Tomorrow Supporters
