Ana Graciela Méndez is a product manager. Méndez began her career as an investigative reporter in Panama, her native country. In 2015, she was awarded a Magic Grant from the Brown Institute for Media Innovation to develop Nueva Nación’s El Tabulario, the country’s first open data repository for journalists — an experience that set her on a path for product work. Most recently, she led strategy and research for The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Lenfest Local Lab, a community-centered, experimental product team.

Méndez, along with a small group of New York Times journalists, was awarded a 2017 Gerald Loeb Award for graphics for an investigation into the construction of the Panama Canal’s new set of locks.