Lori Mercedes has survived a civil war and breast cancer and is now program director at the Hispanic American Council in Kalamazoo

After surviving a civil war in her homeland and a recent bout with breast cancer, Lori Mercedes’ philosophy is to “have a plan for tomorrow, but get it done today.”

She left her home in Nicaragua in 1987, while that nation was in an official state of emergency because of political power struggles, to move to the United States.

“When you talk about the land of the free, it means a totally different thing to me,” she said. “I am able to say what I want without fear of persecution or the repercussions it would have on my family.”

Mercedes, 40, settled in Kalamazoo 10 years ago when she said she “fell in love with the city” while visiting family. And what started as a volunteer job to fill empty days became a passionate career for Mercedes, who is program director at the Hispanic American Council, Kalamazoo’s largest Latino advocacy group.

www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2011/07/lori_mercedes_has_survived_a_c.html