Karin Mendez is an Education Ombuds in the Office of the Education Ombuds (OEO). Before joining OEO, Karin spent close to thirty years as a public school teacher in Phoenix, Arizona where she taught at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.
During her time as a teacher Karin had the pleasure to work with students from many different countries and was able to create an environment where her students felt safe to express their cultural, linguistic, and personal uniqueness. Karin’s students always knew that they could come to her with any issue that they may have had, and that she would do her best to advocate for them as well as teach them how to advocate for themselves
Karin is so pleased to be a part of such an amazing team and is excited at the prospect of working to affect positive change in public education. In her spare time Karin hikes, swims, and is perpetually trying to bake the perfect loaf of bread. Karin speaks Spanish fluently, is conversant in French and Dutch, and has retained a few phrases in Somali.