MentorChat

We are excited to kick off this season of Mentor Chat with guest Misty Woody, Chief Development Officer at Allegheny Family Network. Allegheny Family Network delivers services through individual parent-to-parent support, support groups, parent education opportunities, the Parent Support Line, and social events. In this episode, Misty takes a deep dive into the services and resources that are available through the network, but, more importantly, shares an aspiring story of hope and recovery! 

This is a very informative episode for parents and guardians, especially those who have lived experience of raising a child with mental health or behavioral health concerns. We invite you to listen in and share with others!

Additional Resources:

Allegheny Family Network

Allegheny Family Network Parent Support Line 1-888-273-2361

PA Parent and Family Alliance Emotional Safety Plan for Parents

As we recorded the final episode of this season, our nation was in the grips of tragedy following mass shootings in Buffalo, NY, Orange County, CA and Uvalde, TX. Events like this are heartbreaking and have, unfortunately, become all too common. Now more than ever, it's important for caring adults to be there for young people and to foster open, honest conversations that help them feel safe and supported. Please refer to the Additional Resources for more information on helping young people in the wake of tragedy and trauma.

In this episode, Michelle and Ashley wrap up the season and share a little about what's to come. They talk about how, in order to best support young people and their mental wellbeing, we have to take care of ourselves too. Listen in to hear from some familiar voices about how they practice self care as well as exciting details about the next season!

Additional Resources

The Mentoring Partnership of SWPA

MENTOR's Supporting Youth in the Wake of Trauma

Creating a Mental Health Plan Template

Creating a Mental Health Plan Session Recap

Social Media & Mental Health Among Teens

Imagine if we surrounded young people with mentors everywhere that they live, learn, work, and play. And not only with new connections, but also through recognizing and building upon the important relationships that are already there! In our last interview of Season 3, we talk with Brenda Jimenez, CEO of MENTOR New York about this potential and more. Listen in to hear about the incredible work happening in New York related to access, racial equity, and being there for young people.

Additional Resources

MENTOR New York | https://www.mentornewyork.org

MENTOR New York's Racial Justice Framework | https://www.mentornewyork.org/racial-equity

Sign up for the Becoming a Better Mentor Live Coffee Chats with Sophia!

https://www.mentoringpittsburgh.org/news_posts/becoming-a-better-mentor-live-coffee-chats

Credits

Hosted, written, and produced by Michelle Thomas & Ashley Wineland with The Mentoring Partnership of SWPA | www.mentoringpittsburgh.org

Music is "Cheery Monday" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Entering into the workforce as a young person is tough! In this episode of Mentor Chat, we talk with Charline Alexandre-Joseph, Senior Director of Systems Innovation (formerly Director of Workforce Development) at MENTOR, about recruiting, supporting, and retaining young people in a workplace. This is a conversation relevant to adults, young people, employers, and employees - so don't miss out!

Additional Resources:

Connect | Focus | Grow | https://www.mentoring.org/connect-focus-grow/

MENTOR's Workplace Mentoring | https://www.mentoring.org/resource/workplace-mentoring/

O*NET OnLine | https://www.onetonline.org

Credits:

Hosted, written, and produced by Michelle Thomas & Ashley Wineland with The Mentoring Partnership of SWPA | www.mentoringpittsburgh.org

Music is "Cheery Monday" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Wouldn't it be nice if there was a handbook for everything? Well now at least there's a guide for how to be a better mentor to young people! In the first interview of the season, Ashley and Michelle talk with Mike Garringer, Director of Research and Evaluation at MENTOR about MENTOR's new free resource for any adult. Becoming a Better Mentor: Strategies to Be There for Young People is rooted in research, written by experts, and includes real-world advice and strategies for how mentors can “be there” for young people. You don't want to miss this relevant and informative conversation!

Additional Resources:

Becoming a Better Mentor: Strategies to Be There for Young People | https://www.mentoring.org/resource/becoming-a-better-mentor/

Sign up for TMP's Everyday Mentoring Weekly Tips! | https://www.mentoringpittsburgh.org/tips

Credits:

Hosted, written, and produced by Michelle Thomas & Ashley Wineland with The Mentoring Partnership of SWPA | www.mentoringpittsburgh.org

Music is "Cheery Monday" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

You've heard us talk all about mentoring, but what does working in the mentoring field really look like? Who is TMP and what do we do? What's happening in the mentoring movement nationally and in other places around the country? In this introduction to Season 3, Michelle and Ashley provide some context around these questions and lay the groundwork for an exciting season talking with affiliate partners around the country who are pushing the mentoring movement forward!

Additional Resources:

Elements of Effective Practice for Youth Mentoring

Learn about Technical Assistance from TMP

Find out more about all of TMP's trainings!

Credits:

Hosted, written, and produced by Michelle Thomas & Ashley Wineland with The Mentoring Partnership of SWPA | www.mentoringpittsburgh.org

Music is "Cheery Monday" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

January is National Mentoring Month, and in honor of that, we have a special feature episode of Mentor Chat that you don't want to miss! We had the pleasure of sitting down with Gregg Behr to talk about strategies for creating atmosphere's of learning through Everyday Mentoring. In this episode, Gregg touches on Remake Learning Days, defines learning sciences, and shares a cool passion that sparked joy for him during the pandemic and thus inspired some young people in his neighborhood! As National Mentoring Month comes to a close, join us in conversation and reflect on the ways you are helping support the next generation of leaders and change-makers.

Additional Resources:

When You Wonder, You're Learning | http://whenyouwonder.org

Remake Learning | https://remakelearning.org

Thank you to Gregg Behr:

Gregg Behr, executive director of The Grable Foundation, is a father and children’s advocate whose work is inspired by his hero, Fred Rogers. For more than a decade, he has helped lead Remake Learning—a network of educators, scientists, artists, and makers he founded in 2007—to international renown. Formed in Rogers’ real-life neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Remake Learning has turned heads everywhere from Forbes to the World Economic Forum for its efforts to ignite children’s curiosity, encourage creativity, and foster justice and belonging in schools, libraries, museums, and more. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and also Duke University, Gregg holds honorary degrees from Carlow University and Saint Vincent College. He’s an advisor to the Brookings Institution and the Fred Rogers Center, and has been cited by Barack Obama, Richard Branson, and the Disruptor Foundation as an innovator and thought leader.

Credits:

Hosted, written, and produced by Michelle Thomas & Ashley Wineland with The Mentoring Partnership of SWPA | www.mentoringpittsburgh.org

Music is "Cheery Monday" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Join Ashley and Michelle as they wrap up the season and discuss impactful moments from the interviews with Dr. Dana Winters, Dr. Harriet Schwartz, and Principal Eric Harper. Do you have questions or thoughts of your own? Share them with us! Leave a review or visit our website to get in touch!

Stay Connected with TMP: 

Sign up to receive weekly Everyday Mentoring tips | https://www.mentoringpittsburgh.org/tips

Help us continue to deliver free training to caring adults in the community |  https://www.mentoringpittsburgh.org/pages/give

Thank you to Dr. Dana Winters, Dr. Harriet Schwartz, and Principal Eric Harper.

Credits:

Hosted, written, and produced by Michelle Thomas & Ashley Wineland with The Mentoring Partnership of SWPA | www.mentoringpittsburgh.org

Music is "Cheery Monday" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented challenge for schools, students, and educators. At Duquesne Elementary School, Principal Harper and his team continue to face those challenges. Even so, Everyday Mentoring has remained at the heart of what they do. Listen in to our last interview of Season 2 as we talk with Principal Harper about how they've embedded Everyday Mentoring into their school relationships and the ways the pandemic has impacted that.

Additional Resources:

Duquesne City School District | dukecitysd.org

Thank you to Eric Harper:

Mr. Harper is a team-oriented individual who advocates for children. Born in 1975 in McKeesport, Pennsylvania and a 1994 graduate of McKeesport Area High School, Mr. Harper was offered a full scholarship to attend the University of Cincinnati. He graduated from the College of Education with a Criminal Justice Degree with a minor in Psychology in 1999.

After graduation, Mr. Harper worked as a therapeutic specialist for the ArchDiocese of Greater Cincinnati's - St. Joseph Orphanage for two years. Returning to Pennsylvania in 2001, he began a career as a vocational counselor for The United States Department of Labor's - Pittsburgh Job Corps for several years. Following the Pittsburgh Job Corps, Mr Harper worked for several public schools within the Pittsburgh Public School System.

Over the past ten years, Mr. Harper has dedicated his services to Duquesne Elementary School operating under several different job duties and titles, most recently as the Student Services Coordinator up until the 2018-2019 SY.

The start of the 2019-2020 School Year Mr. Harper started his principalship as Duquesne's Elementary School Principal under a PA Emergency Principal Certification (PK-12). Mr. Harper enrolled in postgraduate studies at Point Park University studying Administrative Education with a principal certification (K-12) in March of 2019. His targeted graduation date is March 2021. Since then, Mr. Harper completed his Master's program in Administrative Education in March of 2021 as anticipated.

Credits:

Hosted, written, and produced by Michelle Thomas & Ashley Wineland with The Mentoring Partnership of SWPA | www.mentoringpittsburgh.org

Music is "Cheery Monday" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

When we talk about mentoring, what we're really talking about is relationships. Just because it may not be called "mentoring," doesn't mean that it isn't an important relationship. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Harriet Schwartz - author and professor -  about what it means to have growth-fostering relationships and how we can be intentional about using the "good things" to make even the smallest interaction meaningful.

Connect with Dr. Harriet Schwartz: 

www.harrietschwartz.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRDOz9GWfIxLKk344EjvvAQ

Twitter: @Harriet Schwartz

Linkedin @https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrietschwartz/

Instagram: @ConnectedProfessor & @HarrietLSchwartzPhotography

Thank you to Dr. Harriet Schwartz:

Harriet L. Schwartz, PhD, is Professor of Relational Practice and Higher Education in Antioch University’s PhD in Leadership and Change program. She is the author of Connected Teaching: Relationship, Power, and Mattering in Higher Education. She also writes in the public domain, addressing social justice issues including racism, sexism, and homophobia. Harriet is lead scholar for education as relational practice and a leadership team member for the International Center for Growth in Connection, the intellectual home of Relational Cultural Theory and related research and practice. Harriet lives in Pittsburgh.

Credits:

Hosted, written, and produced by Michelle Thomas & Ashley Wineland with The Mentoring Partnership of SWPA | www.mentoringpittsburgh.org

Music is "Cheery Monday" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/