Mentorship Matters: A Public Matters Initiative
Introduction
By continuing to provide Lowell’s leaders with enhanced knowledge and skills, Public Matters has fostered a deeper sense of community and leadership throughout the city of Lowell. To further develop these attributes, The Lowell Plan launched a mentoring program in June, 2011. The city’s established leaders were partnered with Lowell’s emerging leaders to cultivate a relationship that will contribute to our overall development.
Mentorship Matters Program is designed to:
- Be a continuation in the process of helping develop new leaders in Lowell;
- Connect mentees to those who have extensive professional experience and have contributed significantly to Lowell’s proud history of innovation and collaboration;
- Inspire mentees to become a guide and mentor to the next emergent generation; and
- Ensure a diverse and ever-growing community of invested leaders who will work to promote the best interests of the City of Lowell and its residents.
Mentors
Our mentors are community leaders who have demonstrated a long-term passion for and commitment to the city of Lowell and its residents. Our mentors are chosen due to their significant experience, know-how and networks—and because they are people who enjoy sharing their knowledge and community with the emergent generation. These individuals welcome the opportunity to share what they have learned and regularly give back to the vitality of the community of Lowell.
Mentees
Mentees will be drawn from alums of the Public Matters program and our partner organizations. Mentees are accomplished individuals who have compiled a record of exemplary work and have been already identified as leaders in Lowell. Mentees share a passion for improving the quality of life in Lowell and a commitment to improving their own skills in pursuit of that goal.
Process
Through a Speed Networking event, both the mentors and mentees are able to meet a variety of people invested in the city of Lowell, each with unique career experience and personal characteristics. Mentees complete a survey in which they listed their top choices for mentor, as well as any personal and professional goals. To meet these needs, The Lowell Plan accounts for personal preferences along with networking and shared personal and career aspirations. Matches are made based on several factors, including, areas of interest, areas of expertise (civic engagement, business, strategy, planning, non-profit sector, leadership), experience, and networks.
Mentors/mentees are matched for a six-month period. Mentors contact their mentees within two weeks of their assignment and set up the first meeting. One-hour monthly meetings are scheduled by the mentors/mentees. In addition to one monthly meeting, participants are expected to have one email or phone call each month to check in with each other.
Summary
For generations, Lowell has produced committed individuals who have assumed leadership roles in shaping our city. Successful public/private institutional partnerships have been and will be the cornerstone of Lowell’s success, and partnerships require leaders. Central to Mentorship Matters is an acknowledgement of the important role played by those past and current leaders, along with an equal awareness that the future of Lowell depends on a new generation.