Maria Luisa Mendiola

Maria Luisa Mendiola is a Costa Rican body-inclusion advocate that has worked in community-building and DEI for the last 10 years. Her experience with disfigurement led her to found MIGA Swimwear, the first body-inclusive swimwear line designed with women who have disfigurement, disabilities and chronic illnesses. In 2018, Mendiola raised upwards of $10k to produce their first collection inspired by burn survivors. In 2019, she launched her second collection which included designs by the disability and chronic illness community. In 2020, she focused on highlighting the brand’s commitment to sustainability and sun protection material in order to include non-disabled customers. She is a speaker on topics such as disfigurement and disability inclusion, and its intersections with gender, policy and the workplace. She is the editor for MIGA's blog, where people from all over the world share their experience with different health conditions, providing support for those recently diagnosed.