29 Jul, 2026
What changes when mental and behavioral healthcare is designed around the way people actually live?
Join Pineapple’s Melissa Steach and Shiva Mendez, founder and principal of Sage Lattice, LLC, for a wide-ranging conversation about recovery-oriented care, neighborhood-based service models and the role of the built environment in promoting dignity, trust and autonomy.
Together, they explore how services, spaces and systems can move closer to the people they are intended to support, and how behavioral healthcare can become a more integrated, accessible and familiar part of everyday life.
Shiva Mendez brings more than three decades of specialized experience in healthcare design, with a portfolio that spans variety of healthcare settings and unique expertise in behavioral health/correctional health. Her work is defined by a strategic, research‑guided approach that balances patient experience, operational efficiency, economic prudence, and design excellence.
Trained in interior architecture, Shiva integrates aesthetics, human factors, and material performance to create environments that foster healing, support staff focus and enhance safety. A dedicated advocate for patients, caregivers, and organizational stakeholders, Shiva believes in the power of design to reduce stress, promote dignity, inspire hope, and spark delight. Her leadership is grounded in collaboration, curiosity, and a passion for elevating the built environment’s role in health and well‑being.
Education: Rhode Island School of Design, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Interior Architecture.
