MENTORSHIP

Buffalo, NY

We advance women's leadership and gender equity through employer education, individual mentorship, and elevating female entrepreneurs

Aspiring Leader Pathway

Through its ALL IN initiative, the WNY Women's Foundation offers the Aspiring Leader Pathway, which gives individuals the tools to take on leadership roles in their communities. The WNY Women's Foundation is proud to partner with Women Who Lead - a team of local female leaders committed to sharing their skills, knowledge, wisdom, and connections with young women - on this initiative.

Women Who Lead matches Aspiring Leader Pathway applicants with a mentor whose experience is relevant to the aspiring leader's goals. Once they're paired, the mentor and mentee coordinate their own mentorship schedule.

Mentors provide support as aspiring leaders:

  • Develop new skills
  • Identify areas for growth
  • Complete a self-designed project
  • Access community resources
  • Connect with like-minded women*

*At the WNY Women's Foundation, we recognize that anyone who identifies as a woman is a woman; inclusive of cis, non-binary, trans, and gender-fluid individuals.

How Can I Join?

Sign Up Information Coming Fall 2023

Javeena A. Edwards, MBA, chief financial officer at Girl Scouts of Western New York

Why Mentorship?

"It doesn't matter where you are in your career, everybody needs a mentor. I look at it as someone I can build a companionship and a relationship with who can help coach and guide me. I feel like everyone needs that person."

Why Mentorship?

Women with mentors experience increased connection, broader perspective, and more engagement at work, plus women with mentors are more likely to advance in their careers. Mentorship can also help the bottom line: recent studies have reported how a more gender-diversified C-suite positively impacts profitability.

Yet roughly half of all women have no access to a mentor.

As such, the WNY Women's Foundation's ALL IN WNY initiative recognizes the importance of facilitating opportunities for mentorship as part of its Aspiring Leader Pathway. ALL IN is proud to partner with Women Who Lead to bring together women and encourage female mentorships throughout the region.

Women Who Lead Leadership Team

Founded in 2017 by Ellen Grant, executive director for corporate social responsibility and community education for Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Women Who Lead established a partnership with the WNY Women's Foundation in 2020.

  • Ellen Grant, Founder
  • Althea Luehrsen
  • Bernie Aja
  • Tammy Alsace
  • Florina Altshiler
  • Morgan Bryant
  • Lynne Marinelli
  • Catherine Roberts
  • Kelli Tanzella
  • Lynne Thornton