The Laurel community mourns a warrior
Photos courtesy of Martin Mitchell
For anyone following (or reporting on) the local rent stabilization movement over the last two years, the name “Ana” became quite familiar. Whether she was holding a sign at the front of every demonstration or march, testifying before city or county officials, or knocking on doors to canvas neighbors, Ana V. Rodriguez Montoya’s wide smile and upbeat personality were a constant presence—outshined only by her fierce determination and passion for human rights.
It was therefore a shock to many who saw the sad news on social media in mid-November. Ana had died on November 9, at the age of 49, after a valiant fight with cancer.
Born in Honduras, Ana lived in Laurel for many years. She had already been serving as a Prince George’s County community organizer for CASA-Maryland, a Latino and immigration advocacy organization, when a new cause literally showed up on her doorstep in early 2022. Tenants at Westgate Apartments, near her residence on Van Dusen Road, were at wits’ end after months of appealing to their management company to make needed cleanups and repairs, only to have their requests answered with no action and a steep increase in rent. Ana went door-to-door talking to neighbors to get a sense of the situation’s severity. She helped residents organize and plan, and they ultimately employed what they felt was their only recourse to being heard: they went on a rent strike.
At about the same time, renters in other parts of Laurel were being threatened with eviction after they were unable to meet a sudden and steep rise in monthly rents. With the help of Ana, CASA, and two Laurel City Council members, the two renters’ groups converged and a grass-roots movement was launched. They wrote to elected officials, testified at public meetings, marched with megaphones and banners saying, “Housing is a Human Right” and “Rent Stabilization Now!” As local, regional, and then national news media began covering the story, Ana’s name and face appeared frequently—even though she never sought the spotlight, according to those who knew her and worked with her.
“Ana didn’t do things for fame or to be accepted,” said former Laurel Councilman Martin Mitchell, who joined her as a vocal advocate for rent stabilization. “She just did things because they were the right thing to do. I had the distinct pleasure of working with her. She helped me become a better advocate and organizer, and she also helped other people see a new perspective, which isn’t easy to do.” Mitchell adds that residents seeking answers quickly learned that Ana would do everything she could to find those answers. “Their first call wasn’t to the city,” he says, “they were calling Ana.”
Jorge Benitez Perez, who at the time was the local CASA organizer for Prince George’s County, lauded Ana for “fighting for a larger mission well beyond herself,” noting that she “was all about making sure that people were housed and that children, especially, weren’t suffering the effects of evictions.” He recounts how Ana personally intervened to stop an unlawful eviction by physically putting herself between the eviction crew and the house in question, where a single mother lived with her three children. During the standoff, calls were made to straighten out the situation, which involved miscommunication and misunderstandings, and ultimately the family was not evicted. PGC Sheriff John Carr reportedly said that he had never seen an eviction order reversed in his 25 years of service. “Ana did that, through her anger, disappointment, passion, and her courage,” says Benitez Perez. “That will always be my favorite memory of her.”
Ruth Walls, a well-known Laurel advocate and founder of Patrons for Peace, said: “When I think of Ana, I think of a kind, charismatic FORCE. Even though she was always dealing with incredibly difficult issues such as housing, she always carried joy with her. That made it easy for people to come walk alongside her.”
Although the Laurel City Council did not enact rent-stabilization legislation, Ana and the renters’ group found success at the county level when, in April 2023, Prince George’s County passed a temporary law to set a percentage cap on how much rent can be raised from one year to the next. In October of 2024, the County Council voted to make the temporary measure into permanent law, signaling a long-fought and welcome victory for advocates.
By that point, Ana had been quietly fighting Stage 4 gastric cancer. Her four daughters, in a tribute posted to a GoFundMe campaign, revealed that Ana had been told, upon diagnosis, that she only had a few months to live. Calling on her inner warrior, she remained “bold, strong, and determined to the very end,” living for a full year—long enough to celebrate birthdays and holidays with her daughters and her seven grandchildren, to keep showing up for meetings and demonstrations on various causes, and to relish the news of a hard-fought victory: passage of the county’s permanent rent stabilization bill. One cruel aspect of the timing was that Ana was very close to completing the requirements for full U.S. citizenship—one of her biggest dreams, but one that she often put on hold to focus on advocating for others’ human rights.
Calling Ana a true hero, Benitez Perez says he will always cherish his memories of her and will continue to be inspired by her example. “When I’m feeling like things aren’t working in our favor, I’m gonna think about how Anna was in moments where things weren’t working in her favor; she managed to push through it, never losing hope.”
Diane Mezzanotte is a staff writer and member of the Board of Directors for The Laurel History Boys. In addition to covering Laurel city municipal news, she also reports on all things from South Laurel.
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