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Meet our board

Chair Elect - Luan Mendel

Luan Mendel Board Member _ Samantha Lindberg Photography

More than thirty years ago, Luan Mendel came to the Eastern Sierra to ski and hike and fell in love with Mammoth Lakes. In 1999, she and her husband John bought a home here, and in 2014, Luan became a full-time resident. Luan and John co-own Devils Creek Distillery in the Mammoth industrial park. The distillery, which began producing barrel-aged spirits in 2017, has won numerous awards for its bourbon and rye.

In addition to her duties as business manager and compliance officer for the distillery, Luan also works behind the bar in the tasting room. She is currently President and Board Chair of the Mammoth Lakes Foundation and has served two terms as President of the Rotary Club of Mammoth Lakes. She has worked and volunteered in various other nonprofits, including 12 years as a trustee at a private liberal arts college in Sherman, Texas. Inspired by the Eastern Sierra, Luan also wrote and published a novel, Yard Sale, which is set in a ski town remarkably like the one she calls home. Her fictional town of Devils Creek inspired the name of the distillery.