Ms. Mena received her Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Avila University in 2014 and went on to receive her Master’s in Nursing Leadership from Missouri Western State University in 2019. In addition to working as a nurse, Ms. Mena received extensive environmental health training in the field, working with the Children’s Mercy environmental health team, as both an educator as well as a team coordinator.

Ms. Mena worked continuously throughout the last few years with CleanAirNow through boots on the ground projects, served as a Board of Directors, and has just recently transitioned into the current leadership role as environmental health director.

Atenas centers her work around reducing health inequities, educating communities on environmental health impacts, and empowering community members to have a voice and fight for equity and environmental justice.