Jánelle Marina Méndez Viera’s life has traced a path through nearly every corner of the Hudson Valley. Born in Bronxville in lower Westchester and raised in the Peekskill/Cortlandt Manor area of northern Westchester, her roots in the region run deep. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran with a background in investment advisory at JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Bank of America she covered Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess and Orange Counties over her career, at 36 she became the sole inventor of a U.S. patent in AI-driven financial technology making her the first Puerto Rican to invent in this category of advanced financial arts and she is the founder of Hexstellation, a fintech company she’s building from Sullivan County.

Her record of civic impact is rooted in the region as well. While living in Wappingers Falls in southern Dutchess, she founded the MST Movement, a veterans’ advocacy organization whose work produced enacted state and federal legislation, including New York’s Restoration of Honor Act of 2019. She then dedicated three years to research in the Caribbean — a journey connected to her heritage and her social science research went on to become the foundation of her inventions. In 2022 she was awarded the Human Rights Award by US Institute of Human Rights and Diplomacy.

Returning home to the Hudson Valley, she settled in southern Putnam County, where she was competing in the patent system again the financial titans during a time where financial arts approvals were just 2.9% Post Alice. She relocated to Southern Sullivan where she’s now a devoted mom to her daughter Serenity in Rock Hill. She loves jogging, lake days, and connecting with neighbors who care about making the Hudson Valley a great place to live and work. She’s joining Hudson Valley Connect to meet fellow founders, veterans, and community-builders across the region.