Lisa Mendez describes herself in the early days of her career as “a little girl from Hialeah, Miami, with no education, no direction.” At the time, she didn’t view her job as a hostess and server at her local IHOP as a career. She was a young, single mother just trying to earn a paycheck, pay the bills, and juggle parenting. She didn’t yet have the perspective to think about the big picture; she was in survival mode. That is, until someone planted a seed.
“One day, somebody said to me, ‘You’d be a great district manager,’” Mendez recalls. “And my immediate reaction was, no, I would not. But then a few days later, I remember thinking, ‘Huh, I wonder if I could actually do it.’ It just kind of snowballed over the years. I remember six or seven months in, standing inside an IHOP and thinking, this place is the best kept secret—in terms of the financial opportunity, the quality of our people, the tenure of our employees, and the ability for growth.”
And so began Mendez’s journey through the ranks of Sunshine Restaurant Partners (SRP), an IHOP franchisee with more than 150 locations in Florida and three locations in southern Georgia. Today, she serves as regional director of operations for South Florida, overseeing the day-to-day operations of nearly 50 locations.
Mendez worked her way up without much female leadership to model herself after. As she advanced beyond shift lead and head server, she often found herself asking questions such as: What’s appropriate attire? How should I conduct myself in a meeting? For guidance, she looked outside the industry, often turning to her older sister, who worked in banking.
She also found herself emulating the male leaders around her—both the good and the bad. In retrospect, she says that as her confidence and knowledge grew, she slowly began to see herself as a leader and bring more of her authentic self to work.
“I can confidently say that I’m leading with my whole self right now as a woman in restaurant leadership,” Mendez says. “But in those days, I didn’t even realize I was holding my emotional self in—that I wasn’t being as passionate as I could be, that I was stifling myself and worrying about being too loud. It’s freeing to finally be able to say, ‘This is what works for me and what’s true to myself.’”
With roughly 50 percent of SRP’s workforce made up of women, Mendez saw an opportunity to formalize mentorship and support by creating Elevating Women, an internal resource group focused on education and empowerment. The initiative is designed to plant the same seeds once planted in her, increase visibility and, most importantly, create a pipeline of talented women leaders to shape the company’s future. The kickoff event took place last November, drawing more than 90 women along with the entirety of SRP’s executive leadership team—an intentional show of solidarity and support across the organization.
“It’s about passing the baton and inspiring others to pull someone else up,” Mendez says. “Our leaders walked out of the first Elevating Women meeting, pounding their chests. That energy goes back to our employees, to their families, to our guests. It’s about more than operations. There was a woman in that room who walked away more confident, more powerful—and that will have a domino effect in her personal and professional life.”
As Mendez continues to build out the framework for Elevating Women, she is expanding mentorship opportunities and working through the system to create a ripple effect—from salaried leaders to shift leaders and beyond—fostering confidence and leadership development at every level.
Supporting Mendez in this effort is Claudia Rodriguez, vice president of human resources. Rodriguez joined SRP and IHOP in 2008 as director of human resources and has served as vice president since 2016.
For Rodriguez, the pandemic marked a pivotal shift in how SRP approached leadership development. The foundation was already strong, with many team members boasting decades-long tenures. But the instability of the industry during the global crisis underscored the need to build a deeper bench, reaching further within the organization to identify, develop, and grow talent.
Elevating Women became one avenue for building that pipeline. Rodriguez recalls standing in the back of a general manager meeting with Mendez and realizing women made up the majority of the room. In that moment, they knew it was time to take action.
“You must have leadership support for initiatives like Elevating Women to create a culture where everyone feels embraced and valued,” Rodriguez says. “Culture is a nice word, but you have to live it through your actions. Embracing our values and diversity is critical to us. We don’t take our eye off the prize when it comes to ensuring everyone has a responsibility to contribute to the culture—creating ownership and confidence from the very start of employment.”
Ileana Hernando is one of those leaders contributing to the culture from the front lines. An area director who rose through the ranks of SRP, Hernando was interviewed by Mendez 22 years ago. Over the past two decades, she has participated in the brand’s development programs and now supports the Elevating Women initiative while serving as a mentor to emerging talent.
“Younger leaders need confidence, training, and support,” Hernando says. “They’re tech-savvy and deep thinkers, but they also need the basics, like personal accountability. Teaching those core values is critical, but so is open dialogue. It opens the door for people to be vulnerable, to meet them on a personal and professional level, and to show that we’re not just faceless leaders in this organization.”
Growing up in the industry without many Hispanic women leaders to look up to, Hernando says she wishes she had learned earlier to use her voice as a tool for growth. She was taught to put her head down, do the job, and stay quiet. Today, she actively challenges that mindset.
Together with Mendez, Rodriguez, and SRP’s broader leadership team, Hernando uses her voice to elevate, educate, and empower others.
“I am a Hispanic immigrant woman in a leadership position today, so I want to say something to women in my language: ‘Sí puedes,’ or yes, you can,” Hernando says. “Your dreams are attainable, and your support system can help nurture them. I want women in this industry to understand they are our future. Just as I was the future 22 years ago, they will now carry the torch and the tradition.”
