Alumna Dr. Sarah Lane Gives Big to Fund Future of Bastyr University
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Sarah Lane, N.D. on Why She Gives to Bastyr University
Dr. Sarah Lane ‘88 has good reasons for giving to Bastyr University.
It was a warm evening in Indian Wells, California. The 2025 American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) annual convention was moving at full steam. In-person comradery was back. The vibe was cheery and bright.
Convention attendees were welcomed to a ceremony honoring AANP founders and early members who influenced the organization, its direction and its growth. As the event reached its climax, those early AANP leaders were welcomed to the stage by AANP Executive Director Laura Culberson Farr.
“On stage I saw Kathy Rodgers, Bruce Milliman, Pam Snyder, Jared Zest, Michael Cronin, and many others who reignited interest in naturopathic medicine in America decades ago,” recalls Dr. Sarah Lane. “It was so touching and meaningful. As I watched, I realized I was looking into the audience at a sea of faces who have no idea yet about the depths of our medicine.”
After the ceremony, attendees were invited to alumni receptions. There was a lot of anticipation about what Bastyrians might encounter.
An unsettled energy filled the room as newly reappointed, Interim Bastyr University President Dr. Joe Pizzorno (Dr. Pizzrono is now the university’s chancellor) spoke to a packed audience of alumni and supporters. He recapped the state of the university, and its place in higher education. Then, he laid out a new vision for the path ahead.
Listening to Dr. Pizzorno and looking around the room, Dr. Lane felt the cumulative impact of her Bastyr University education. It felt like a homecoming. A connection to a community that upholds shared values and beliefs founded in the power of the human body to heal itself. In that moment a thought crystalized.
“It became clear to me Bastyr University has done a lot and I could give back,” explains Dr. Lane.
Dr. Lane had a trip planned to visit Bastyr University in Kenmore, about a week after the AANP conference. Still inspired, she met with Dr. Pizzorno and pledged one million dollars.
“It was so fun I could cry!” she recalls with a lithe tone. “The shock, surprise, and the gratitude in Joe Pizzorno’s face. I said, ‘keep me anonymous.’”
After Dr. Lane returned home to Missoula, Montana, she had a change of heart. Not about her donation. Rather, she realized she didn’t mind being thanked. She wanted her story to inspire others to give, at any level, because giving creates impact and secures the future.
Join Dr. Lane in Shaping the Future of Natural Medicine
Dr. Lane’s historic gift is an inspiring catalyst, but ensuring the long-term vitality of naturopathic medicine and the healing arts requires our entire community standing together. In an evolving healthcare and higher education landscape—where federal regulatory shifts and clinical demands challenge our profession—your support directly protects and empowers the next generation of practitioners. Whether you are an alumnus, a clinical colleague, or a grateful advocate of whole-person care, giving at any level creates tangible momentum. Your gift funds vital student scholarships, advances rigorous integrative clinical training, and ensures Bastyr University remains the standard-bearer for compassionate, science-backed healing.
Make a gift to Bastyr University today and help secure the future of the medicine we believe in.
“My education at Bastyr served as a foundation for a holistic philosophy that can really be applied to any system, not just the human body, “says Dr. Lane. “Social decisions, political decisions, building decisions, for example. How do you include determination of the impact of what we do, and how can it play a part in improving the greater whole? The foundation of naturopathic medicine is unique to naturopathic medicine in that it holds and conveys traditions of healing, knowledge of healing, knowledge of function that is much deeper than medical school. Emunctories, detoxification, fever treatments, hydrotherapy treatments, the why and how is our tradition, and comes from predecessors.”
A Window of Opportunity for Naturopathic Medicine and Aligned Healing Sciences
Naturopathic medicine has entered the chat. We’re part of a national conversation about health. The conversation requires guidance to help others understand our place and our power. It needs input from aligned practitioners in mental health, midwifery, and nutrition.
“We’re in a window of opportunity with old structures breaking down,” says Dr. Lane. “It seems really timely for Bastyr University to be present. Those of us who practice this medicine and who have benefitted from this medicine must ask important questions.”
Dr. Lane poses these questions to fellow alumni and naturopathic doctors:
- How does the university keep up with the needs of humanity?
- With federal changes to lending limits for ND programs, how might we work in a system where naturopathic medicine could be taken away as a profession?
She may not have all the answers, but Dr. Lane knows part of the solution is showing up. Another part is giving what you can. Then, being part of collective action to ensure a future for naturopathic medicine is a good way to make our voices heard.
The Beginning of Naturopathic Medicine Journey
Dr. Lane’s interest in naturopathic medicine began in the back of a natural food store. She was attending University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington for her undergraduate studies. At age 19, she found a book, entitled Herbal Medicines, about natural ways to treat the common cold and sore throats.
“I thought why doesn’t everyone know about this,” she reflects. “I used the information in the book to get over a cold. Then, I got Achilles tendonitis. I hobbled around for a few days. Then, I found John Bastyr College. Within a day after treatment at Bastyr Clinic, I wasn’t limping.”
After she completed her undergraduate degree, Sarah Lane enrolled in the John Bastyr College of Naturopathic Medicine. It was 1984. She studied in the original Seattle location in the Wallingford neighborhood at the McDonald Elementary School.
After earning her doctorate, Dr. Lane planned to go to France. She thought she would spend a couple years there and write about natural medicine. Instead, she started her naturopathic medicine residency and just kept going. Her patients needed her. She was hooked on helping people heal their bodies.
Take Aways from a Meaningful Career in Naturopathic Medicine
These days Dr. Sarah Lane is getting used to being retired from the practice of patient-driven naturopathic medicine. Her career spanned more than 30 years and her dedication to naturopathic practices is stronger than ever.
“Naturopathic medicine is powerful,” says Dr. Lane. “Your body is intrinsically inclined to heal itself; our form of medicine enhances healing processes. Naturopathic doctors see the patient through these processes. It’s not a quick fix, but our approach empowers deeply healing care.”
Several years into private practice, Dr. Lane noticed an increase in younger women presenting with breast cancers. She investigated what other naturopathic medical physicians were doing. She collaborated with a local oncologist who had observed improved treatment tolerance in patients who engaged in complementary care at Dr. Lane’s clinic. While helping patients through their cancer journeys was rarely easy, it was rewarding to be able to make a difference.
“Naturopathic doctors use protocols and methods to enhance the healing process and we follow our patients along their healing journeys,” says Dr. Lane. “We need to get back to the medicine we know because it is too valuable to lose.”
Naturopathic Medicine Lessons to Help Guide New Doctors
Dr. Lane offers insight and wisdom from her years of practice.
Your body has the ability to heal itself. Using protocols that enhance those processes, and following the patient through the process, is the key to being an effective naturopathic medicine doctor.
In our society, people have been trained to expect a quick fix. Often deep healing requires commitment, time, and ongoing effort. It can be financially costly too. Try to help your patients find ways to access the healing they need.
Naturopathic medicine has real knowledge about how organs work together and the way the systems work. We know there is beauty in keeping the blood healthy through detoxification via clean food and water.
In modern times, we need to know about toxins. Understanding the toxic burden on humans, the processes, and how our environment affects our health is very important.
Hope for a Healthier Humankind
Dr. Lane holds a lot of hope for the future of naturopathic medicine.
She is pleased to see wider interest in trauma-informed approaches to care. And understands many naturopathic practitioners have a history of observing trauma and working with patients through various modalities to heal their bodies and spirits.
Moving from a for-profit health care model to a model invested in prioritizing human healing is a dream many of us hold dear. Dr. Lane hopes there is opportunity to change our health care system for the benefit of nearly all of us, very soon.
She reminds us that Bastyr University can stand up for what it offers which is natural medicine that doesn’t harm people.
One of Dr. Lane’s greatest hopes is for our university to thrive again with Dr. Pizzorno guiding the way with his knowledge and wisdom.
