Dr. Jason C. Méndez is a South Bronx-born storyteller whose work lives at the intersection of memory, culture, and connection. He brings deep experience across education, the arts, and community spaces—using story as both method and message to build trust, shift narratives, and inspire lasting impact. Jason works across public, private, and nonprofit sectors, leading intentional efforts that blend storytelling and digital media to support social, cultural, and economic transformation. He partners with communities, classrooms, and institutions to help people name what matters, imagine new possibilities, and move with purpose. His work spans arts organizations, universities, foundations, and grassroots movements—grounded in the belief that the stories we tell shape the worlds we build.

 

Jason is the Co-founder and CEO of Block Chronicles, a digital literacy, arts, and research hub rooted in community storytelling. He also serves as Partner at MKR City, a platform that connects makers and changemakers through creative engagement and cultural strategy. Across both spaces, Jason leads with a focus on turning vision into action—bridging  research, creative expression, and grassroots organizing to build projects that matter. His work has supported artists, educators, and youth across the region, including the Pittsburgh Latinx Artist Residency (P-LAR), which helps emerging Latinx artists in Allegheny County build visibility and momentum for their work. To date, these efforts have reinvested more than $250,000 into Latinx arts and culture in Pittsburgh.

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Jason holds a PhD in Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he explored the relationship between storytelling, place, and the idea of home. He also earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Randolph College, with work rooted in memory, identity, and mindfulness. He often returns to the question of home: how we carry it, how we lose it, and how it follows us.

 

Jason lives in Pittsburgh, PA, with his partner, Dr. Dara D. Méndez, their three children—Cairen, Adrah, and Leilani—and their dog, Yuisa.