This move from hard news reporter to public information officer may prove challenging at times, but Mendez relishes the thought of being able to spend more time with her son, Nicholas, now 6.
Her baptism by fire into the world of a PIO came with the arrival of Hurricane Gustav. Mendez camped out in the School Board’s emergency command center at the C. J. Schoen Administrative Complex during the storm, her first days on the job.
 Meredith Mendez |
“It’s the perfect job at the perfect time. I believe in the school system,” said Mendez.
She said her goal as PIO is to showcase the positive and best side of the school system. Some would say this is the opposite of her former Northshore bureau chief position with WGNO-TV.
Mendez, a native of Annandale, Va., graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1993. She has worked in Texas, Shreveport and Tampa, Fla., as well as New Orleans. After losing her home to Hurricane Katrina, she returned to Washington D.C., but she eventually found her way back to south Louisiana.
Mendez has many awards to her credit, including the Associated Press Award for Best Breaking News, the Better Business Bureau Consumer Reporter of the Year, Associated Press 2008 recognition as one of Louisiana’s top three journalists, Victims and Citizens Against Crime Outstanding Media Award and the Louisiana Juvenile Justice Project Media Award, and she is a recipient of the Taishoff Broadcasting Fellowship.
Mendez has also been a featured speaker at the Freedom Forum and Newsuem national conferences for minority high school journalism students. She has also served as a volunteer for local charities, including the building of the new Abita Springs playground and Catholic Charities.
Mendez replaces longtime spokeswoman Linda Roan, who retired in August.
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