Lana Mendis

Lana Mendis is JustLeadershipUSA’s Administrative Coordinator.  She is a native of Chicago, IL, but has resided in Ohio for almost 14 years. She also works with Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, part-time with Chopping for a Change, a culinary Arts program for incarcerated women. She is also a member of  JustLeadershipUSA’s 2022 Leading with Conviction cohort.

Lana is a mentor, as well as an ambassador for Prison-to-Professional PhD (P2P) working on the STEM Opportunities in Prison Settings project. In addition, Lana attends Ohio Christian University full-time, majoring in Leadership & Ministry in Pastoral Care and continuing straight into her Business Management MA in Leadership in 2022.

Although Lana worked in the finance/brokerage industry for eighteen years prior to her incarceration in 2016, which changed her life, she is very passionate about advocacy and policy reform within the criminal justice system. This passion stems from encountering many obstacles, difficult challenges, trauma, and adversity in her life. Lana is a survivor of abuse, foster care, neglect, homelessness, domestic violence, and incarceration.