Lana Mendis

As the Leadership Admin Coordinator for JustLeadershipUSA, Lana Mendis is responsible for the execution of the Leadership Team’s initiatives. In this role, she orchestrates critical operations, including the coordination of meetings, nurturing key vendor partnerships, and serving as the connective thread between JLUSA’s leadership, its alumni network, and broader community initiatives. Originally hailing from Chicago, Illinois, Lana has made Ohio her home for nearly two decades.

Beyond her contributions to JLUSA, Lana is involved with the Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, where she works with the Chopping for a Change (C4C) program. This transformative initiative blends culinary arts training with trauma recovery, empowering incarcerated men and women to rebuild their lives and reintegrate into society with renewed purpose and skills.

A 2022 alumna of JLUSA’s Leading with Conviction™ program, Lana’s leadership extends across multiple spheres of influence. She is an active member of the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice (NABCJ) and served as a mentor and ambassador for the Prison-to-Professional PhD (P2P) initiative, focusing on the STEM Opportunities in Prison Settings project.

Academically, Lana holds a B.A. in Leadership & Ministry in Pastoral Care and an MBA in Organizational Management & Administration. Currently, she is pursuing her Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership at the University of Dayton, demonstrating her relentless drive for personal and professional growth. Prior to her work in criminal justice reform, Lana spent nearly 20 years in the finance and brokerage industry, working with industry giants such as Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Citibank, and The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). Her roles spanned Operations, Compliance, Management, and Human Resources, reflecting her broad expertise in organizational leadership and high-stakes financial environments.

Lana’s passion for justice reform and advocacy is deeply personal. Her life story is a testament to perseverance, shaped by overcoming profound adversity, including incarceration, severe child abuse, foster care, neglect, homelessness, and domestic violence. Her journey from surviving these hardships to becoming a vocal advocate for criminal justice reform underscores her unwavering commitment to changing the system from within. As a resilient survivor and transformational leader, Lana is driven by a singular purpose: to inspire, uplift, and effect lasting change in the criminal justice landscape.