Consulting
Mentoring programs designed for your setting.
Hands-on guidance for planning, launching, strengthening and evaluating mentoring programs—in schools and communities, inside companies, and across professional associations.
Areas of support
Needs assessment & approach
Starting with your community: the people you hope to reach, the partners already at the table, and what a realistic program looks like for you.
Program design
Shaping goals, roles, matching, partnerships and structure into a plan that fits your setting — school-based, community-based, workplace or association-based.
Curriculum development
Custom training for volunteer mentors — positive youth development, communication, active listening, building trust, setting and reaching goals — and for the staff who run programs.
Program evaluation
Realistic process and outcome measures tied to your goals, including help with the evaluation sections funders ask for.
Program settings
Youth & community mentoring
School-based and community-based programs that match young people with caring, prepared adults.
- Needs assessment
- Work with schools, families, and community partners to understand needs.
- Program design
- Shape school-based and community-based models.
- Mentor preparation
- Recruit, screen, orient, and train mentors.
- Youth & parent orientation
- Prepare young people and parents for the program.
- Match support & evaluation
- Support matches after they are made, and evaluate the program.
Corporate mentoring
Internal employee mentoring programs that support professional development and knowledge exchange—and employee mentoring of young people in the community.
Internal employee mentoring
For mentoring among your own people—new hires, emerging leaders, or colleagues sharing expertise across teams.
- Program goals
- Clarify what the program is for: professional development, onboarding, retention, or knowledge exchange.
- Program design
- Turn those goals into a structure for matching colleagues, with clear roles across teams.
- Roles & expectations
- Define roles for mentors, mentees, managers, and coordinators.
- Mentor & mentee preparation
- Prepare both sides for productive relationships, including how mentoring differs from coaching.
- Coordinator support
- Train coordinators to recruit, match, support, and close relationships well.
- Evaluation
- Set up evaluation so the program can be improved over time.
Employee–youth and community mentoring
For employers whose staff mentor young people through schools or community organizations.
- Community partnerships
- Plan the partnership with a school or community organization.
- Volunteer preparation
- Prepare employee volunteers to mentor young people safely and well.
- Shared support
- Agree on schedules, roles, and support between employer and partner.
- Evaluation
- Evaluate the program for both the young people and the employees.
Association & professional mentoring
Mentoring programs that professional associations and member networks offer to their members and fields.
- Member needs
- Shape the program around member needs and the field.
- Program design
- Choose a format and matching structure that fit member needs, with clear roles and expectations.
- Mentor & leader training
- Train volunteer mentors and program leaders.
- Conference sessions
- Sessions and talks at conferences and convenings.
- Evaluation
- Evaluation that shows what is working.
Illustrative stock photography
Selected previous clients
A selection of organizations Susan has worked with.
View previous clients →Youth/community & mentoring networks
- MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada
- YouthBuild USA
- US Dream Academy
Public agencies & statewide initiatives
- Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Connecticut Mentoring Partnership
- TeamMates Mentoring Program (NE)
Education
- Rutgers University
- Purdue University North Central
- Southern CT State University
- NELRC/World Education (ABE-to-College Transition Project)
Corporate & professional
- Novartis Pharmaceuticals
- American Institute of Architects (AIA)
- Allstate Insurance Company
- Webster Bank
Principles behind the work
- Needs-led
- Recommendations start from your community's needs and context.
- Community partners
- Bringing in the schools, employers and organizations who can share the work.
- Prepared mentors
- Orientation and training so mentors, mentees and families know what to expect.
- Ongoing support
- Attention to the relationship after the match, not only before it.
- Learning through evaluation
- Evaluation as a tool for improvement and sustainability, not just reporting.
Every program is different. Consulting supports your own decisions; it does not guarantee particular outcomes or funding.
Partners
Susan works independently and often collaborates with Craig Bowman of Common Ground Consulting on selected mentoring engagements, bringing complementary expertise to youth, community, corporate and association programs.
Planning a new program, or strengthening one you run?
Explore consulting, technical assistance, training and public speaking for your organization.