Kelly Fair is known as “The Mentor.” Thirteen years after founding her mentorship organization, Polished Pebbles, Kelly now serves 1,300 girls annually at over 50 schools and sites in the Chicago area and beyond. With of four core programs, young women of school age develop the skills needed to succeed in the workplace. The core school day/after school program provides social-emotional learning and mentoring. Here, the girls learn how to S.H.I.N.E. (Smile, say Hello and Handshake, Introduce themselves, Nod, and End the Conversation), set goals, and dress for success. Kelly's organization offers additional programs that include a work/study program and job shadowing with partnering businesses, particularly in the trades where young women are underrepresented.

Kelly understands the need for young women to be mentored. Though an enthusiastic and successful primary school student, once she entered sixth grade, like many girls of that age, Kelly found her self-esteem and enthusiasm for school plummeting. Luckily, she was an avid reader of Essence magazine, where she saw Black women lead rich lives and have successful careers. So, she sought out a summer internship at a local salon, where she overcame her shyness and learned about running a business. Later, when her dear mentor Reverend Doctor Linda Shepherd passed away, Kelly realized she wanted to continue Linda’s mission—to mentor other girls to success.

It is our responsibility to set the foundation of success for our future women leaders. Join today’s conversation to hear Kelly explain why you should always let your mentees see you sweat, why you should stay humble but always let people know how much you’ve scaled, and the importance of staying true to what you actually want to do.

Quotes

• “I think people really underestimate how it really doesn’t take that much to engage young people. I think we underestimate how impressed they are that people care that much about them to show up.”(17:57-18:15 | Kelly)

• “We need male allies as well who are affirming for girls that ‘Yes, this is important; yes, you will work with me; yes, there are not a lot of women but you can be here.’” (33:55-34:05 | Kelly)

• “Everybody wants to be part of a winning team. If your idea is winning, you’d better not block people from being a part of supporting you.” (51:03-51:12 | Kelly)

Connect with Kelly Fair:

Kelly on Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/kfairthementor

Polished Pebbles on Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/polishedpebbles

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