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Community Health Alumni Mentoring Program

(CHAMP) Guide

Version 1 - 2018

Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…..2

What is the Commitment? ...................................................................................................................................................... 2

Suggested Monthly Topics……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………….3

Academic Year Mentoring Timeline ........................................................................................................................................ 4

CHAMP Advisory Committee .................................................................................................................................................. 4

Recruiting Mentors ................................................................................................................................................................. 5

Matching Process .................................................................................................................................................................... 5

The Liaison/Connector Role .................................................................................................................................................... 6

Kick-off Training Event ............................................................................................................................................................ 7

Mid-Year Panel Discussion Event ............................................................................................................................................ 7

End of Year Celebration .......................................................................................................................................................... 7

Collecting Data to Demonstrate Impact ................................................................................................................................. 8

Resources for Mentors ............................................................................................................................................................ 8

Past Events/Speakers …………….………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………9

CHAMP Photos ...................................................................................................................................................................... 10

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Introduction CHAMP was started in 2017 to provide students in the Community Health Department the opportunity to connect with

alumni and for alumni, the opportunity to give back to the department. In its first year, 49 CH undergraduates were

paired with CH alumni based on questionnaires sent to mentors and mentees. The 9-month structured program consists

of kick-off, midway, and closing events for alumni and students to attend as well as, suggested monthly topics for

discussion provided by the CH department. The CHAMP Advisory Committee, consisting of alumni, staff, faculty, and

students, supports and help manages this program.

What is the Commitment? CHAMP would like everyone to have a meaningful experience, therefore; we ask that all prospective participants commit to the following:

• Mandatory attendance at CHAMP training events (Non-local mentors can watch the training on WebEx).

• A once monthly meeting or call between mentors and mentees

1. Both mentors and mentees should prepare in advance for meetings. This may mean updating a resume,

completing research, or working on networking skills. Mentors and mentees should agree on a

topic/content and goals for each meeting.

2. Mentors/Mentees will have mid-month check-ins by phone or even meet more frequently than

1x/month, if they choose to do so.

3. We strongly suggest attending the Mid-Year and End-of-Year Celebration. Team members can compare

experiences and learn from other participants. (Non-local mentors can watch these on WebEx).

• Communication between the CH department and CHAMP members is encouraged. A quick email or phone call is

always welcome.

• Mutual respect, cooperation and communication are critical components to the success of the mentor-mentee

relationship. It is especially important that mentees respect the mentor’s time and keep their commitments. It is

also important that mentors learn mentee’s working style.

• If a participanting mentor or mentee becomes unresponsive during the program, please contact the CH

department at ch@tufts.edu.

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Suggested Monthly Topics:

• October: Self-Assessment

• Here's a link to a self-assessment curriculum from the Wharton Magazine • Strengthsfinder 2.0 book and online evaluation • Myers-Briggs type assessment - a good conversation starter • Another Character Strengths Survey - another good conversation

• November: Building Relationships

• Not Networking 101: Building Relationships for Success Webinar • What is an Informational Interview? • Never Eat Alone by Ferrazzi & Raz

• December: Leadership

• HBR’s 10 Must Reads: On Leadership. Recommended: What Makes a Leader or Discovering Your Authentic Leadership.

• What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful, by Goldsmith, with Mark Reiter

• How good are your leadership skills? A fun quiz from Mindtools.com

• Role play ideas and activities from Workshop Exercises

• January: Building confidence to meet competencies

o 5 ways to beat the self-promotion paradox

o Hardball for Women by Pat Helm

• February: Personal branding/Professional presence

o Resume and Cover Letter Development

o Tips for Managing Your Personal Brand at Work

o How Credible are You?

o What Makes You Unique

o Building a Positive On-line Personal Brand: Using LinkedIn, Blogs, and other Social Media Tools

• March: Negotiating skills

o Book suggestion: (a classic) Ask for It by Babcock and Laschever

o Knowing Your Value: Women, Money and Getting What You're Worth by Mika Brzezinski

o Win - Win Negotiation tips and worksheet

o Salary Negotiation for Industry

• April: Work/Life negotiation

o Negotiating Work and Life: How to Find the Joy. 10 Commandments article or as a Webinar

o Why are we sleeping with our phones?

o http://ase.tufts.edu/commhealth/documents/alumniCHAMPpresentationInterviewing.pdf

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Example Calendar

CHAMP Advisory Committee

The Advisory Committee, consisting of a director and/or 2 co-directors supports CHAMP. The sub-committee facilitates event planning and communications. In addition, the CHAMP committee members help in the matching process, manage the liaisons or mentoring team “connectors”, communicate any issues back to the director; provide resources for topic requests and any other helpful feedback. Meet our team: front left: Oliva Japlon, David Meyers, Yolanta Kovalko

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Recruiting Mentors Recruiting is something that is done all year—especially mentor recruiting. The committee members, current students,

alumni, and others help us recruit mentors. In late August, we will send an email to CH Alumni inviting them to mentor

our students. Alumni that are interested in becoming a mentor, will receive a questionnaire survey with the following

questions:

Basic information for a Mentors’ survey

Name Personal email Back up email (work or other) Phone number where best to really reach you City/town where you live City/town where you work Do you have access to a car or only use public transportation? Degrees and dates the degrees were received Work experience, years and positions Do you have any experience in formal mentoring programs? Please tell me more about your mentoring style—the strengths that you bring to the process, areas where you can be especially helpful, etc. What do you expect from mentees? Successful mentoring requires that 2 busy people find a convenient time to meet; that works for both, necessitating some schedule flexibility, how much flexibility do you have?

Matching Process

Matching is not an “objective” process. Recognizing that building strong partnerships between mentors and mentees

contributes to the success of the program. We use our experience to put teams together and help them create effective

partnerships. At the beginning of school year, we will send an email to all CH students to invite them to participate in

CHAMP. If they express interest, they will receive a follow-up email with an application/questionnaire asking for a brief

statement about why they would like to participate in this program and to fill out the questionnaire. We will use this

information to determine which mentor would be a good match in terms of goals, interests, experience, logistics and

especially, about what they would like to get out of the experience. After the match has been made, students will

receive an email with a mentor match and a Memorandum of Understanding, specifying the basic terms of agreement.

Students will sign it and return it to us.

• Mentors will be notified of the match. An introductory email will be sent to both mentors and mentees.

• Geography matters too. Making sure people can meet regularly and easily is a success booster (we can provide

space for that in our building per request).

• Note that Mentees are not necessarily matched based on their career interests. Mentoring is about helping

mentees grow and develop, not about specific technical skills or job opportunities. To clarify this point, we talk

about this in the application information and in the training.

• Meeting on a regular basis is key to making the process successful. It is a challenge to get 2 busy people

together once per month, but it is worth the effort. Be certain you are ready to commit to the program and

meet its basic demands.

• Mentees should not ask mentors for a job. Mentors are there to guide mentees on their journey of self-

discovery and growth.

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Basic information for a Mentees’ survey

Name Personal email Back up email (work or other) Phone number where best to really reach you City/town where you live Do you have access to a car or only use public transportation? Work/Internship experience: organizations, years and positions What 3 areas are you most interested in working on this year ?

The Liaison/Connector Role

We make sure the groups get off to a good start by encouraging them to meeting regularly and helping them find the

information and materials they need. We’ve found that it is helpful to have an individual who acts as a liaison

connecting to all teams. This individual is called connector and plays a very important role.

Connector check in with the teams by email and phone to ensure they are meeting and help them address any major

issues or obstacles that may come up. Connector also provides resources and advice and help solve some issues.

CHAMP’s Kick-off and training session will address and provide tools and guidelines for solving small conflicts or difficult

situations with teams such as those mentioned below. We are developing a document with frequently asked questions to

the mentoring teams to help manage problems and obstacles. This document will grow over time and be a good

resource. These and any other issues or questions can be addressed by emailing ch@tufts.edu with subject line: CHAMP

• Emails from mentees complaining about mentors

• Mentors drop out and are not responding to the emails

• Mentees drop out and are not responding to the emails

• What if one Mentee or Mentor is monopolizing the conversation?

• What if a mentee is reluctant to speak?

• Questions from mentees regarding switching mentors

Connector

Mentor

Mentoring Committee

Mentee

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Kick-off Training Event Below is a sample agenda for the kick-off training. We will invite the mentors, mentees, connector, committee and

mentorship experts. In addition to the training, we will provide useful resources to good mentoring.

Sample Agenda:

5:15 – 5:45 PM Registration, light dinner, networking

5:45 – 6:15 PM Welcome and program overview and orientation/training

6:15 – 7:45 PM Facilitated Mentoring team mock presentation

7:45 – 8:15 PM Questions taken. Teams set their first meeting dates and try to choose

suggestive topics

8:15 – 8:30 PM Dessert and networking

Topics to cover in the orientation/training

• Explanation of the connector role and how to use the connectors

• Managing expectations – this is not about getting you a job, it is a way to set and reach goals for personal

growth.

• Recommendations for team meeting logistics

• How to get started – the first few meetings

• Provide example curricula and suggestions for where they can find resources

• The importance of goal setting and tracking

• What if the mentee never speaks

• How to be effective in contacting the mentee/mentor by email and phone and what to do when mentee/mentor is not responsive.

Mid-Year Panel-Discussion Event Below is a sample agenda for Mid-Year Panel-Discussion and Check-In event. We will facilitate a panel discussion that

would bring together Alumni experts in their fields. This event can also be used to help recruit prospective mentees and

mentors.

Sample Agenda:

5:15 – 5:45 PM Registration, light dinner, networking

5:45 – 6:15 PM Welcome and program overview

6:15 – 7:45 PM Panel Discussion

7:45 – 8:15 PM Questions taken. 8:15 PM Dessert and networking

End of Year Celebration We like to celebrate the year and our collective accomplishments with a fun event at the end of the program. Note

that mentoring teams are encouraged to continue meeting. The year-end event can also serve as an informational

session to recruit participants for the next program. Flyers with information on the program will be provided and

volunteers will be on hand during networking to answer questions.

Some suggested components to this program:

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• Celebratory goodies

• Invite distinguished mentor speaker

• Thank the mentors! Small gift or card to thank them for their great service

• Have a representative for each team talk about one great thing they did

• Have participants talk about milestones and goals they achieved

Collecting Data to Demonstrate Impact We will administer a survey at the end of each year, in order to collect impact data to support the growth of the

program. The data will also help us recruit, publicize the program the following year, and support fundraising. It may

also be used for fundraising. End-of-the Year Survey may include some of the questions below:

Did you set goals as part of your mentoring experience?

Did you make significant progress on the goals you set?

Did your mentor help you to make a career or role change this year?

Which of these topics did you cover in your team this year for example: Career development plan, Self-assessment of strengths and weaknesses, Community Health career paths, Networking, Building confidence, Interview/resume preparation, Communication skills?

Did your team met regularly? Did your mentoring program help you develop new skills? Was mentoring effective? Did the match worked well? Training received was sufficient to get started? Mentor was helpful with advice and ideas?

Please complete this sentence: If there was one thing I could have changed about the mentoring program it would have been… (open ended response box)

Please complete this sentence: The best part about my mentoring experience was…

Resources for Mentors:

• Coach, Mentor: Is there a Difference? • Good Mentors are Precious Resources • How to Be a Great Mentor • Mentoring Matters • The Mentor’s Way: An Introduction to the Eight Rules of Mentoring

1. Chart a Course 2. Stay Out of the Driver’s Seat 3. Create a Safe Place 4. Good Questions Beat Good Advice 5. Balance Empathy and Action 6. Foster Accountability 7. Fill the Toolkit

• Other Papers and Articles Online about Mentoring

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For Mentees:

• Four Ways to Figure Out What You Really Want to Do with Your Life • Multiple Intelligences: Strength Assessment • SWOT Analysis • The Clean Sweep Program™ • Individual Development Plan IDP

Past Events/Speakers:

CHAMP Kick-off Informational session and reception was held on Monday, October 2, 2017. Lauren Celano, CEO of Propel Careers and expert on mentorship talked about responsibilities and duties of mentors and mentees. Brief introductions of alumni mentors and discussion was moderated by Lauren Celano. The event ended with reception and chance to socialize.

On Monday, November 13, 2017 we held a Distinguished Alumni Panel Discussion on the End-of-Life. Our distinguished speakers were: Anne Jacobs, Managing Director of Navigant and expert in healthcare programs design, implementations and management; Keith Lagnese, MD ,expert in family hospice and palliative care, and Howard J. Young, Partner and expert in legal and ethical competencies of end-of-life care. This event was moderated by Lauren Celano and Keren Ladin, Ph.D., MSc.

Mid-Year Check-In event was held on January 24, 2018 with a panel discussion on: Best Practices for Successful Mentoring. Panelists participating in this event were: Jocelyn Carter, MD, Internship Supervisor at MGH, Abby Cheng, Advocate and Consultant for STEM Equity, and Lauren Celano, CEO of Propel Careers.

CHAMP End-of-Year Celebration held on Wednesday, April 25, 2018 featured the founder of Community Health Centers, Dr. Jack Geiger. He spoke to the mentors and mentees about how he created the country’s first community health centers and how that launched a movement across the country. What a way to end the first cyle!

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