Lillian Montoya is the President and CEO of CHRISTUS St. Vincent, north-central New Mexico’s full-service regional health system. She is the hospital’s first female CEO since the original Sisters of Charity founded the hospital in 1865. Prior to becoming CEO, she served as the hospital’s Chief Operating Officer. During her tenure, she has led an organizational and cultural transformation of Christus St. Vincent. This effort has positioned them to earn a Best Place to Work recognition for six successive years, among the highest Associate engagement scores in all of Christus Health and became part of the Mayo Clinic Care Network of hospitals for its commitment to quality, safety, associate engagement, and patient experience.

As a native New Mexican, Lillian has distinguished herself as an active participant in many community, business, and educational organizations. She has been repeatedly featured as a New Mexico top business “Power Broker” by New Mexico Business Weekly. Lillian was also recognized with the 2021 American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Senior-Level Healthcare Executive Regent’s Award for making significant contributions to the advancement of healthcare management excellence.

Prior to her work with CHRISTUS St. Vincent, Lillian led organizations and initiatives to strengthen New Mexico in the areas of higher education, economic development, venture capital, and early childhood education.

With more than 30 years of extensive experience in helping corporate, government and nonprofit leaders navigate strategic and organizational challenges, Lillian has demonstrated proven results in developing and implementing programs that make our communities better places to live, work, and thrive.

Lillian earned both her B.A. and MBA at the University of New Mexico. She lives in Santa Fe and wishes her two grown kids would move back to New Mexico. Apparently, they demand more young professionals to mingle and food trucks within a one block radius.