Mina E Mendez
Chair
Arizona Board of Executive Clemency
Mina Mendez was born in Phoenix, Arizona and grew up in Phoenix and Mexico City. Mina graduated from the University of Arizona College of Law in 1995, after receiving her undergraduate degree in Religious Studies from the University of Arizona. In 2004, she was appointed as a Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner. Mina retired from the bench in February of this year, but continues as a trainer/presenter for the court on family law and domestic violence issues and serves regularly as a judge pro tem.
Outside of the Court, Mina has a long-standing commitment to mentoring, particularly mentoring Latina law students and young lawyers. Her passion for mentoring started while she was in law school where she administered the Minority Law Students’ Association’s tutorial program, a popular and well-attended peer teaching complement to the first year curriculum. For the last 9 years, Mina has hosted the Los Abogados Latinas Brunch in her home. This program serves as an annual formal mentoring event bringing law students from all three Arizona law schools together with Latina lawyers and judges.
In addition to Los Abogados, Mina is a member of the Arizona Women Lawyers Association and has served on committees for both organizations. Mina and her husband, Steve, are the proud parents of two girls Ava, age 11 and Leah, age 8.
