Meet our board

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. In 2017 she and her family started Devils Creek Distillery in the Mammoth industrial park. The distillery, which produces barrel-aged spirits, has won several awards and was featured in the Winter 2022 issue of Sunset magazine.

Luan is the business manager and compliance officer for Devils Creek Distillery. In addition, she chairs the board of the Mammoth Lakes Foundation and has twice served 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.