MentHERship
» Team Members: Amy Kunselman, Andrea Narendorf, Carmen Pemsler, Jessica Bazan, Lalitha Benjaram, Shelby Harvey, and Stephanie Putzke
» Alumni Advisor: Carrie Casillas, and Stephanie Teetes
Introduction The mentHERship project team consists of a diverse group of professionals, with a wide range of careers and experience spanning 1.5 to 18 years in the AEC industry. Over the next six months, we plan to build upon ‘mentHER’, a project from the 2021 cohort and set this program up so that another group may be able to take it to the finish line in the future. Objectives In an effort to keep our project manageable over the given timeframe, we decided to limit our scope to two key objectives: 1. Complete the matchmaking survey started by the 2021 mentHER cohort 2. Develop a framework with an emphasis on mentor resources, training, providing discussion topics, establishing milestones, and focusing on commitment and follow-through. After assessing the existing project, we believe these are the two most crucial next steps to elevate this program and set it up for future success. These objectives will allow us to build upon the existing framework, address issues that limit accessibility and break down silos, and set it up for success so that the next group who might pick up where we’ve left off can continue to build upon it. Mission mentHERship is a program designed to address the lack of accessible mentorship opportunities in the AEC industry by facilitating intentional and personalized matches. To develop our thesis statement, our team identified some of the key issues with mentorship within the AEC industry that we wanted to address. These areas of focus include: 1. Finding mentors outside of the individual’s company. There is significant value in having a mentor who is a neutral third party, and can provide perspective and insight outside of an individual’s organization. This also prevents mentors from having direct input on an individual’s performance or compensation, and allows the mentee to speak freely and seek unbiased advice. 2. Expanding network beyond local mentors. When seeking mentors outside of the individual’s own organization, we understand that poaching is a real concern for companies. We wanted to develop a program that broadened the geographical boundaries and allowed participants to form mentor relationships with people outside of their local network.
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