Lift Every Voice

Mentorship, Navigating Systems and Finding Your Path | Featuring Jen Garcia

Entering a new industry can be difficult, and without proper guidance, many newcomers struggle to grasp its terminology, specialized areas of expertise, and potential career paths. In this episode, Jen Garcia of HIMSS Washington discusses how association-based mentorship programs can create clearer entry points into careers. We discuss⁠: * How curiosity and mentorship shaped a career pivot * Why newcomers struggle to navigate specialized roles * How professional associations can design mentorship intentionally * What outcomes show mentorship programs are working

Mentorship, Designing Systems that Strengthen Organizations | Featuring Wendi Braun

Mentorship is often treated as a program. But what happens when organizations treat it as infrastructure for workforce development? In this episode, learning and performance expert Wendi Braun explores how mentorship connects adult learning, leadership development, and organizational systems. Wendi shares how mentorship programs can improve employee outcomes, organizational performance, and even financial results when designed intentionally. In this episode, we discuss * How theory from psychology shaped modern workforce learning * Why mentorship is an applied practice of organizational development * Why mentorship must balance structure with human relationships *  What makes a mentorship program sustainable in large organizations

Mentorship, The Building Blocks to Career Confidence | Featuring Brandon Erby

Many professionals start their careers with mentorship from those around them, influencing their development at critical moments. In this episode, Dr. Brandon Erby shares how mentorship guided his journey from his community in Michigan to academic pursuits across the eastern United States, and how these experiences strengthened his resolve to serve as a bridge for others in similar paths.   In this episode, we discuss: * How informal mentorship shapes identity development and boosts decision-making confidence * The broad yet manageable scope of mentorship * Ways individuals can purposefully act as connectors for others

Mentorship, Redefining Support and Learning Through Community | Featuring Nancy Sanchez

Many creative professionals begin their careers without mentors to guide them on the right pathways. In rapidly changing fields like podcasting, this can lead to feelings of isolation, slow progress, and missed opportunities to develop sustainable careers. In this episode, Nancy Sanchez, Community Outreach Coordinator at The Podcast Academy, talks about how they are redefining mentorship by fostering community and peer learning, and by designing intentional spaces.   In this episode, we discuss: * Why peer mentorship is often overlooked in professional development * How can creative communities reduce isolation and support career growth * The design of The Podcast Academy’s mentorship program * How a facilitated mentorship ecosystem model supports creative ingenuity

Mentorship, Making Access Visible for First-Generation Learners | Featuring Kendall Laster

Many first-generation learners arrive on campus without visibility into the systems that shape their academic success and contribute to their career goals. When mentorship pathways are unclear, learners may isolate, disengage, or leave before discovering the support available to them. In this episode, Dr. Kendall Laster, Director of Student Success at Central Alabama Community College, discusses how institutions can rethink access to mentorship and design support structures that meet learners where they are. In this episode, we discuss: * Why first-generation identity is often misunderstood * How mentorship visibility breaks down in higher education * Low-cost strategies institutions can use to improve mentorship access * Why mentorship should be an institutional responsibility