What difference does a mentor really make in the APR journey, and why does it matter just as much after you earn it?

In this episode of Shaping Strategy: The APR Journey, host Krystyna Baumgartner, APR, sits down with Cindy Warner, APR, 2025 National School Communicator of the Year, and Danielle Clark, APR, 2025 NSPRA Barry Gaskins Mentor Legacy Award recipient, to explore the power of mentorship in accreditation and beyond.

Drawing from their own experiences navigating the APR process—often without formal mentors—and their work today mentoring others, Cindy and Danielle share candid insights on what it’s like to go it alone, why mentorship can change everything, and how supporting others has become a central part of their professional practice.

Together, they discuss:

• Why mentorship simplifies and strengthens the APR process
• How mentors help candidates move from tactics to strategy
• The balance between guiding and empowering mentees
• What actually makes a great mentor (hint: perfection isn’t required)
• How mentorship fuels professional growth—and the future of the field

Whether you’re considering pursuing your APR, currently in the process or thinking about mentoring someone else, this conversation highlights why mentorship isn’t just helpful; it’s essential to sustaining and advancing the profession.


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