Westchester, Explained 03: Lifting Up Women Through Mentorship

As part of Westchester County’s Women’s History Month celebration, this special episode was recorded for our Office for Women's new Empower Hour webinar series (https://women.westchestercountyny.gov )-- which highlights the power of mentorship in lifting up the next generation of women leaders. In this conversation, we hear how guidance, support and shared experience can open doors, build confidence and shape futures.

Featuring Office for Women Acting Director Catherine Borgia and guest mentor Katrina L.W. Mosley from the County's Department of Probation -- this episode highlights Westchester's strong community of female leadership and explores how investing in women today strengthens our communities for tomorrow. Because when women support women, the impact reaches far beyond a single moment -- it creates a lasting legacy.

Government should be clear. This is your County. And this is Westchester, Explained.

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Transcript

Speaker 0:06

Hi Westchester, I'm Westchester County Government Communications Director Catherine Cioffi. As part of Worcester County's Women's History Month celebration, this special episode was recorded for our Office for Women's new Empower Hour webinar series, which highlights the power of mentorship in lifting up the next generation of female leaders. In this conversation, we hear how guidance, support, and shared experiences can open doors, build confidence, and shape futures. Featuring Office for Women Acting Director Catherine Borgia and guest mentor Katrina L. W. Mosley from the County's Department of Probation, this episode highlights Westchester's strong community of female leadership and explores how investing in women today strengthens our communities tomorrow. Because when women support women, the impact reaches far beyond a single moment. It creates a lasting legacy. Government should be clear. This is your county, and this is Westchester Explained. Let's dive into this great conversation between Catherine Borgia and Katrina Mosley in support of women and mentorship. Let's begin.

Speaker 2 1:16

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Office for Women debut of Empower Hour. Today our topic is lifting up women through mentoring. We decided that we wanted to have a lunch and learn series. We hope that you're enjoying your lunchtime when you're spending this hour of conversation with us to talk about issues that are important to women in Westchester County. We're so thrilled that even though this was a little bit of what we consider to be a soft launch, we have over 120 attendees who have signed up for this. So as you're listening, if you have questions, please put them in the chat and we'll try to answer everyone. Our topic today is lifting up through mentoring. I'm thrilled to have our guest, Katrina Mosley. I want to get your title exactly right, Assistant Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Probation, Bureau of Criminal Operations. Welcome so much. Thank you. Thank you for being here. Thank you for having me. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your career path.

Speaker 1 2:15

So I, like you said, I'm an assistant commissioner with the Department of Probation. I've been with the department for almost 27 years. Uh, I most of my time in the department has been in our family court bureau. However, I've had the pleasure for the last few years of working in criminal operations. And I love it. I love both. Yeah. Yeah. Tell me what you like the best about your job. Ah getting to mentor. Yeah. I mentor in my job as well as the program that we're going to be talking about. But getting to work with all different people and um just being able to be a support for people, guidance, and learning from them as well. Not just, you know, mentoring them, but I feel like they mentor me as well.

Speaker 2 2:58

Right, right. We'll talk about this a little bit more when we talk about the sort of the nitty-gritty of being a mentor. Uh, but it's so true, right? I think one of the things that I have discovered in my 20 plus years of public service is how rewarding it is to really work with people. You're working with people at times of great need. So that I'm sure there it's your impulse to be drawn to help. And also uh one of the things that's very satisfying that I have noticed in my public service career is just the ability to make a difference. And when you see the difference that you've made in individuals' lives, as well as on a system-wide level.

Speaker 1 3:33

That that's definitely one of the best parts. Yeah. To sometimes be walking down the street and have someone come up to me and say, Officer White, and I know it's some law that I had as a juvenile because that was my maiden name again. See them doing well, you know, at as adults and having their own families now and just being productive members of society. That's great. It's a great feeling. That's great.

Speaker 2 3:54

Yeah, you dropped a little pebble in their pool, in their pond, right? And the ripples. I like Yeah. That's that's wonderful. That's wonderful. Uh so I also have had a long uh career in public service. I started out as Assembly Woman Gaeliff's chief of staff. I knew Sandy um socially, and I was working on some specific issues when I became a new mom. I started working on really uh looking at how we fund childcare on a systemic way, doing a lot of advocacy around that because, you know, sometimes you don't realize things until they happen to you. And being a new mother, I saw how difficult it was to work and have high quality child care. And I was in the most fortunate of circumstances. I could afford a nanny. I had a job that had flexibility, I had a house. I my parents were nearby, and it was hard for me. And that made me think, oh my goodness, we really have to make sure that we're investing in our children at the very youngest level. So that's how I got involved in public service. And really, it's just been so many um opportunities from there that come along as you start working on things, as you start thinking big picture about policy issues. So I've served in a number of elected roles, and now I'm delighted to be the acting director for the Office for Women of Westchester, a new role for me. Um, and one that has a real opportunity to give back. So I thank you for being part of the part of chapter one of my story in this in this role. Yeah, well. Yeah. So you mentioned the mentoring, the formal mentoring program that you were doing, Her Honor. Now I know that Westchester County has been involved with Her Honor from the very beginning, and a lot of women in Westchester have served as mentors. Why don't you tell me a little bit about the program and then about your experience? Okay.

Speaker 1 5:44

As you said, uh the Office for Women has been um a sponsor of uh Her Honor program since its inception in 2007. So that's really how I got involved, right? Because, you know, Michelle that works in your office, she's been a Her Honor mentor. So she's been telling me for years, you should be a mentor, you should be a mentor. And I think at one point I was questioning, what do I have to offer? And I said, let me sign up. I'll try it for a year and we'll see how it goes. And here I am in my third year, I'm working with my third mentee. And as you said, it's rewarding. If I had to sum it up in one word, then rewarding would be that word.

Speaker 2 6:20

Yeah. Before we um go on to talk about the specifics of the Her Honor program itself, um I just want to riff off something that you said, which is this is so true of women that you get you need to be asked to do something often. You don't think of yourself in a certain role. Um, and we're gonna change that. I mean, that's that's the cultural change that we all have to be part of because of course you have so much to offer a long, successful career. I'm not chastising you, but I think that's a very common thing. I mean, this there's studies that are decades old now that say, you know, if if a woman is applying for a job and there are 10 requirements, she won't apply unless she has all 10. And, you know, men uh have been socialized. This is not a blame game. Men have been socialized to say, like, if they have one or two, like, this is the perfect job for me. So we have to level that.

Speaker 1 7:13

So everyone's applying at five, right? And that thinking is is exactly what I don't do in my mentorship. I let them know you are enough. Yeah. You know, whatever you have to offer, you offer that and never let anyone make you think that you're less than or about yourself. Right. Right. That's something that a point that I always bring across in my mentorships.

Speaker 2 7:33

Yeah, you know, I think it I think I told you the story when we were prepping for this interview. I I just recently did a public speaking um opportunity with a woman who was literally half my age. She was very well prepared. She was great. Um, and she had her her nerve, she had nerves that were debilitating. And one of the things I said to her is only you, only you can tell yourself you can't do this. There's no, there's nobody who has the force to say you can't do this. It's only you in your own mind. Now that's not to say that those fears aren't real, and that's not to say that I didn't feel nervous stepping up onto this stage, right? We all feel nervous doing things of this nature. But as long as you know inside that you can do something, the odds are good you can get there, or at least pretty close, or at least further than you are before you began, right?

Speaker 1 8:22

And I remember Judge Judy saying something like that in one of the luncheons. She told the young ladies, the only limitations are the ones that you place upon yourself. It's so true, right? And that resonates with me. So true. So let's go back to Judge Judy. Tell us a little bit about the Her Honor program. How did it get started? What's her role? Okay. So Judge Judy and her stepdaughter Nicole were the co-founder, right? And Judge Judy of TV Facts. Judge Judy Shinley. Yes, yes. And it is a mentorship program, and the way it's designed, so they're participating schools. So the each school has a committee that's made up of administrators, guidance counselors, and they nominate young ladies in their junior year to participate in the program.

Speaker 3 9:02

Yes.

Speaker 1 9:03

Once they're nominated, then they fill out an application to apply to be accepted into the program, which they participate in their senior year. So all of the mentees that we're working with are high school seniors heading to college. Wow. What a big year in a girl's life, right? Yes.

Speaker 2 9:18

It's a lot going on senior year. Definitely. So tell us a little bit about what how how do you get matched with your mentee and what's the you know curriculum of the of the time that you spend together?

Speaker 1 9:32

Sure. So mentors also have to fill out applications to apply to be accepted as mentors, and then the her honor staff goes through the applications, the mentees and the mentors, and they match up based on uh location, um, common interests, things of that nature. And it's organized in two semesters. So each semester you're required to have at least 10 sessions, uh encouraged in-person sessions, but hybrid, in-person and virtual. And each semester, in addition to the 10 sessions, the mentees are required to complete two electives each semester. And that elective could be review a TED talk, read a book, write a summary of the book. Uh, they also offer field trips to different organizations like Regeneron, which is one of the companies that works with the Hirana program. And for each semester, once you complete their 10 uh sessions and the two electives, they get a hero grant, an award grant to help them with college experience.

Speaker 2 10:30

Wow, that's that's really wonderful. That's really wonderful. Um, yeah, it's such an interesting time uh when you're making that jump really from your childhood to your adult experience of going to college and just thinking about how wide open the world is. You know, I I think uh when I think back on college and and I said this to my own daughters, you really have to look at that as the time where you have the most intellectual freedom to try out the most number of things. So it's great to have your eyes open in your senior year by your mentor in that in that way. Although I was sad that you didn't get to go on the field trips with the with the mentees. We're gonna write a little note to Judge Judy and say we think mentees should go too.

Speaker 1 11:13

But they do something for the mentors as well. So the last two years they've incorporated what's called a mentorship. Oh so it's uh a happy hour get together for the mentors to meet and network, and that's been an amazing experience as well, just to be able to talk to other mentors out what their experiences are and give each other advice and tips and found out how find out how things are going. So that's been an excellent opportunity as well.

Speaker 2 11:36

So I think you told me that there are specific topics that you're sort of given for each meeting, but it doesn't always work out that way.

Speaker 1 11:43

Right, right. So they give you suggested topics such as networking, interviewing, um, skills building, and you can choose to stick with those topics. Uh some weeks are do-it-yourself sessions. You can, and I always let my mentee pick. What what are we gonna talk about? Are we gonna stick to the session that they've given us? Yeah, or what do you want to talk about? But it's a way just to build each week on the previous week's lesson. Right. Oh, so you meet each week? Yes.

Speaker 2 12:08

Oh wow, that's weekly. So weekly. It's a commitment, but it seems like that really is helpful in terms of building the actual relationship. Definitely. Definitely, yeah.

Speaker 1 12:17

We we meet weekly, sometimes twice a week. And what I try to do is each semester I try to incorporate at least one session where we meet for lunch or dinner. Nice and just a way to kind of relax, that it's not so formal. Right. Um, I try to keep our our meetings very lighthearted anyway. Right. Um, but just being able, it's something about being able to go out and talk over, you know, dinner or talk over lunch that's more relaxing. And I find that it it's very helpful.

Speaker 2 12:43

Yeah, for sure, for sure. Um so uh um let's talk a little bit about your your history.

Speaker 1 12:50

Have did you have any mentors? I've had mentors throughout high school, college, law school, and I'm fortunate now to have four mentors. I would consider myself in a position to have four mentors. So, of the three assistant commissioners in my department, I'm the only one that reports to both deputy commissioners because of my assignments. Right. So they are wonderful mentors. I can go to them at any time with anything personal, professional. Uh, we also have a chief administrator who, before he got promoted to chief administrator, he was an assistant commissioner. So I can go and talk to him at any time. And at the top, there's a commissioner who has been in uh probation for, I believe this is 54 years. So, what better person to go to if I need some mentoring, you know? So, and he has an open door policy as well. And a little mentoring from him too. I'm sure. I'm sure. You know, Commissioner Posey is great. Yes. So I I love that I can walk into any one of those four offices at any time. And it doesn't have to be about probation, it doesn't have to be just professional, it can be personal as well. So I'm very fortunate to have those four people in the administration.

Speaker 2 14:02

Yeah, for sure. I I mean, I think my experience of mentoring, some have been a little bit more formal than others, but in the same way, I feel like I've had mentors along the way, women who have helped me along the way, uh, people that I've had a bond with that really helped me in critical decision making in my in my time. Um, I think I mentioned that I started out my career as Assemblywoman Sandy Gaelief's chief of staff. I had known Sandy uh socially, but uh when she needed a chief of staff, she asked me to jump in. And it was my first time working in government, and I really didn't know much. I had done some advocacy, but I really didn't know how government worked. And so it was wonderful to have her have her as a friend and a mentor and just sort of track the activities that she was doing and how she made a difference. We're very dear friends. We have been from from the beginning, uh, but I feel like um it's great to have someone who you can go to and talk about. She's a little bit older than I am, so she had been through some life experiences soon sooner than I did. And when I started working for her, I had very young children and just talking about the realities of how you manage all the things that you manage in your life as a woman. You know, we're so fortunate that uh we do have these very um, these opportunities, these life stage opportunities to really change. I I'm in one myself. My both of my daughters have uh grown or on their own, doing great, living with all the other Westchester kids in Brooklyn. And, you know, now is my time for me. My mother passed away, so I don't have that level of of caretaking. And so now I'm in a stage where I can reinvent myself. So it's great to be here in a in a job where that's where that's being enabled. Um, I also really feel like you. I feel that anytime I've served as a mentor to young people, it's been, I would say, equally and sometimes net positive for me, enriching for me. Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 1 16:00

So talk a little bit about it. Helps with my professional development, my leadership skills, and just being able to pivot, right? Because, you know, they're high school seniors, they have a lot going on. So it's, you know, sometimes the meeting's not going to take place when it's supposed to, the time that we have scheduled. And just to be able to talk to them and see the direction in which their life is going. Right. And it's so enriching for me as well. And I tell them I learned just as much from you as you learn from me. Right. You know, uh, we talk about different cultures. Um, so I've been fortunate to have three mentees from all different cultures. So I'm learning about their lives growing up in their countries, if they weren't born here, or when they go back to visit family. And it's just a way just to help each other. I tell them this is not just about me mentoring you, you're mentoring me as well. And they look at me like because they can't believe it. Like, what do I have to get? And they feel the same way I felt, right? Like, what do I have to offer? But it's so much. It's a mutually beneficial relationship.

Speaker 2 17:02

Yeah, yeah, it really, really is. I also love being around young people because I think they just have a different energy. They've had different life experiences. Uh, you know, uh it's a different point of view that it only enriches your own point of view. And it's good to it's good to hear a lot of different voices, right? It's good to hear a lot of different takes on on issues. And I think it's easy, especially as you uh go along in your profession where you you have some mastery, right, of what you're doing. And you have at least for me, it is easy to default into like, I know how to do this. So that's why it's good to have that disrupted a little bit and have somebody else say, like, well, what about this? And you know, oh, good point.

unknown 17:43

Right, right, right.

Speaker 1 17:44

And as I said, the majority of my career I worked in what we call our uh Bureau of Family Justice. So I worked with young people as a probation officer, as a supervisor, and as an assistant commissioner. And we knew a lot of times that sometimes we were the only positive role models or mentors that some of these kids had. So I know the importance of, you know, mentorship just in the last, you know, 27 years of my career, in addition to coming before coming into probation, but it's so important to work with young people. You know, we always say young people are the future, and it's true. Yeah. And they need guidance sometimes. So if I can give back that way, it's sure. Yeah, they they need guidance and we need their perspective. So it's a mutually beneficial. Yes, yes. And I think I told you the other day when we were talking, uh, it's funny because growing up, it was, you know, you grew up in a household where it may have been do as I say and you know, not as I do, you know. It we didn't always have a voice. I don't think that there was a time when we didn't always respect young people's voices. Uh and it's so important to get their input. So even when we're coming up with our supervision plan with them, we'll say, okay, these are the things we need to work on. Where do you want to start? So we're getting their input because you have to have their buy-in in order to be successful. Yeah, of course, of course.

Speaker 2 18:58

And also they, you know, they might be looking at things a little bit different than even Judge Judy. Right. Definitely. She might not like that, but we're gonna respect it. We won't tell her that part. Yeah, so I feel also I started a um I started a uh internship program in Assembly Woman Gailip's office. We happened to be located sort of down the hill from the high school. And in Austin High School, you had to have kids had to have a certain amount of um community service hours. So we served as the community service rep. And one of the things that I loved was, and and as a matter of fact, yesterday or the day before, I got a text from a man, a grown man, who I had uh met when he was an intern in Sandy's in Sandy's office. Now he's a lawyer, he spent some time clerking for a judge, and he, you know, he texted me to ask me a political question, but um just staying in touch, really building those relationships. Relationships.

Speaker 1 19:56

Yeah, yeah. That's great. That's important. Relationship building, networking. Yeah. Uh as a mentor, I've had the opportunity to meet some amazing women who are also part of the Harana program. You know, to be in a room with, you know, different lawyers and judges and CEOs and different people and just to be able to bounce ideas off each other. And I have long-lasting relationships with my mentees. I'm glad to say we still keep in touch. And just I think it was last week one of them reached out and asked, Are you still mentoring? You know, if if your new mentee needs any advice or any help, I'm always available. So it's keeping in touch. I check on them, they'll check in with me when they come home for a Christmas break or spring break. So it really is about relationship building.

Speaker 2 20:39

And I love that your mentee realized the value of her being able to give guidance to a new mentee, you know, tell her what college is like, tell her what expert.

Speaker 1 20:49

Right. Right. Because one is in her sophomore year of college, one is in her freshman year, and my current mentee is getting ready to go into her freshman career. So it's very important to have, you know, people that you can bounce ideas off of what do I expect? Right. Should I expect when I go in? So it's it's great. And I'm glad that I was able, because that was one of my concerns. After it's over, will they forget about me? You know, will I never hear from them again? I won't know how they're doing. I said, I'm gonna be bugging them even if they don't reach out to me. So we definitely keep it. Yeah, yeah, we said you're starting Katrina World.

Speaker 2 21:21

But all this with it or have mentored, and mentoring other people are you know, gonna create this uh cycle upwards of good.

Speaker 1 21:29

And I'm encouraging them to come back as mentors in the program. So they are considering it. And that's important because when we have our uh luncheons, a lot of the former mentees have come back as mentors and they talk about their experience as mentees and how it's different as a mentor and how appreciative they are. And I don't think that if they had a really negative experience, they would come back, right? So that says a lot about the program and the experience that they've had, that it's been so positive that they want to be able to help other young people.

Speaker 2 21:58

Yeah. Yeah. So besides. Besides formal um formal kinds of uh mentorship opportunities. If someone is in search of a mentor, what would be your recommendations to them?

Speaker 1 22:09

So I know in addition to Harana, there are a lot of other programs out there. And I would say start with schools, because schools have a lot of programs within the schools. Uh everything is a Google search away these days. Right. I didn't have that one with growing up. So I would say, you know, and it's easy now to find mentoring programs and finding things that are in align with whatever you're interested in. Right. So that's something that I would say to them, you know, speak to your guidance counselor and the guidance counselors that are working with us in her honor program have been great. They have been great. Yes. I've had the opportunities to talk to them.

Speaker 2 22:45

I was thinking about um how I got mentors, and a lot of times it wasn't so formal, right? A lot of times it was you hit it off with someone, your experience right now with the um deputy commissioners, that they're they're open to that. So what about for a woman who can't necessarily or anyone who can't necessarily uh work in a program? Um what's the way to make yourself open to mentoring, would you say, like in a in a work, in a workplace? I mean, I have I I have some thoughts. I I got I might start because I think people don't necessarily feel I think one of the skills we can teach young people right now is to ask people questions. I I know when my daughter graduate my younger daughter graduated from college and she was looking at a bunch of different fields and she was like, I don't want to bother people. And the reality is people love to be asked questions. Yes. People love to talk about their experience, and frankly, people love to help.

Speaker 1 23:46

And what they're looking at as bothering is really opportunity. You could be letting an opportunity pass you by because you didn't want to ask that question. And it's about uh referrals. And even when I got involved, like I didn't know about her honor, right? And you know, just having a conversation and then says, Oh, well, tell me more about that. So yes, definitely. As a worst place friend, it said to you, you'd be great. Definitely. And even and I know the mentees that I work with, they've been talking to other young ladies in their schools about their experience. And some of them had never heard of the program. So now they're interested in applying and you know, working harder because it it's a commitment, you know, and you have to be nominated to be in the program. So working harder so that they can then take like, you know, take part in the program as well.

Speaker 2 24:31

Yeah. And I think, yeah, it's it's like you say, it's like it's a it's a goal, it's an achievement, it's a commitment. So those skills are just useful whether or not um your mentor winds up saying, hey, here's a job you should apply for, right? It doesn't have to be so formal as that. Um so I think that that's great. And then I also feel that all of these types of relationship building, they kind of build on its itself, right? So you once you have reached out in this way, you're less uh nervous about doing it in the future, you're more willing to say, well, I have an idea. Why don't you know, to someone who you see could use some um some help or some assistance, why don't you do this or talk to this person? And um, I feel like right now, there's two things that I think are my guiding principles for everything that I do in my personal and professional life. First of all, people are desperate for human connection, want to connect each with each other on a human level. And the more we do that, the stronger we make our communities, the better off we all are. And also right now, I'm not making any, you know, statements about the condition of the world, but we really can't afford to waste any human potential. So anytime you see a spark, it's good to fan that flame, right?

Speaker 1 25:53

Yes. And I've had mentees that had friends that were not part of the program because of something I said or something I offered. They said, Oh, well, can you talk to my friend? Can you help her with this? Or can she, you know, can you reach out to her? Can I have her reach out to you? Yeah. And even my uh professional uh position at work. So my one of my supervisors, one of the deputy commissioners, she gives me information because she knows that I'm a mentor and so scholarship information. So I've been able to get um my mentees to apply for scholarships and they've been granted scholarships. So again, relationships, yeah, relationships, yeah, relationships and just like sharing, sharing information. Yes. Yes, because it may be information that otherwise they would not have had access to. So just helping them, and you know, when I send it to them, I'm gonna send you some scholarship information. They're like, oh, okay. And then just to hear that they've gotten a scholarship, it's it's very rewarding. Right. It's very warm. No, for sure, for sure.

Speaker 2 26:49

And one of the things I think Westchester County has always been good at and and is continuing to really build is just making sure people do know about things that are available to them. We are we live in a county that is rich in every resource, but most particularly human resources. Yes, right? We have people who are involved in every type of industry here, and we do have a very strong uh volunteer bent. People do want to get involved in helping and helping other people. So um I think that that's great that you're a good ambassador for all of that. Thank you. Thank you. Um so tell me, do you have any you know favorite stories about the times that that you had with your three Bentees?

Speaker 1 27:31

Oh, there are so many, so many. They're just all very positive young women. Yeah. And um just hearing about them getting accepted into their college. Oh, yeah. Just recently happened, right? So my favorite, those are my favorite. And I also talk to them about even if you don't get into the college that you want, which has happened. Sure. You don't get into every college that you apply to, but a no is not a no forever. It may just be a not right now, right? And it may be an opportunity for you to go to another school and see that's really where you were supposed to be the whole time. Right, right, right. And I think it's important what I try to instill in them is we can't always look at things happening to us. Sometimes we have to look at it, they happen for us. Yeah. So that's really good that I trust their shift. Yes, yes. So yes, you have to be on your toes, you know. So it's it's good. So we're able to talk about a lot of different things. And um, one of the stories that I hold near and dear is one of my mentees was struggling with um, she knew exactly what she wants to do in life, um, what she wants to study in college, and her family was kind of steering her in another direction. Right. So I have to walk that fine line between, you know, I don't want to say you don't have to listen to your family. You know, you do what you want to do. And just, you know, looking at it from both sides. Right. And just ultimately letting her know, you know, okay, this is a decision that you're gonna have to make and you're gonna have to be happy with that decision. And it's okay to take into consideration what your family is saying to you. And I would never say, but you don't have to listen to them, right? You know, just letting her know it's okay. You don't have to know exactly where you're gonna be 20 years from now. Right. So it's okay to take different paths and try different things. And I said, you know, college, you have electives. So take different electives to see what you really like. And you may find that what you thought you were gonna do for the rest of your life is not actually what you're gonna end up doing. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 29:25

And and I think, you know, especially nowadays, uh, even uh even in um people, you know, adults, you typically don't have only one thing that you do your whole life, right? So in a way, uh you're uh you're teaching or encouraging people to understand that there's going to be a lot of opportunities, different opportunities, and and you have to have this what you really need is to be um intrepid and be able to evaluate things as they as they come up. And life always throws everyone surprises, right? So it's really just about resilience. Yes, yeah. Resilience is definitely important. Yeah, yeah, and and trusting yourself. And I think you got that. You got that, you got that message. So I do have some other um some other mentorship opportunities that uh I'm just gonna talk about a little bit about in case people are interested in specifically mentoring young women, women mentoring young women. Um, there are some right here in Westchester, the YWCA of White Plains and Central Westchester Sisters Village, um, provides mentorship focused on employment, education, and economic mobility. Um Gems, Girls Empowered Through Meaningful Support, exactly what you're providing, Rice. Yes. Um offering mentoring for high school, uh, the diamonds and middle school girls who are the pearls. Umor, which is the high school senior girls mentoring that you uh have talked about. Um the Women's Enterprise Development Center, which is about entrepreneurships, and that's mentoring for women later, uh, you know, post-education, um, professional mentors focusing on skills that you need to start your business, career planning, um, uh growing a small business in in Westchester. Um, this organization is one that uh I'm very familiar with and I love Good for Girls, which really focuses on young women, and I love that. Leadership development, positive relationships, academic empowerment. Um, and then the Women's Uh Mentoring Network, which is partners with local organizations for professional networking and advocacy. And I will say that there's a lot of opportunities right here in Westchester County, too, our economic development, our MWBE program, a lot of things that are county county sponsored, in addition to something like Hirana, where we we'd have a partnership with an outside organization. Um, uh, you know, we were talking a little bit as we were getting ready for this about also being a mentor yourself for your peers, right? So you have peer mentorships with the um the uh deputy commissioners, right? But also there's a lot of opportunity to really um provide assistance to each other in a in the peer-to-peer mentoring relationship. Mentoring doesn't always have to be so formal. Absolutely.

Speaker 1 32:18

Yeah, absolutely. And the other assistant commissioners and I, we we help each other out, right? You know, discuss cases or policies, different things. So it it's beneficial to everyone when people are working together and providing guidance and trying to support each other because that's what it's about, support and confidence building. You know, judge duty stresses they have confidence building. So it's it's important. Well, she has confidence to spare, so she definitely does.

Speaker 2 32:44

She does. Yeah, that's great though. I do I think it's so important for for young women too to see um to have role models, to see people who are, you know, you don't necessarily at the height of their profession, although that's good too, but also to see people who are living their life's work, doing work that they love. One of the things that I have just so enjoyed about my career in public service is that every day, even when there are challenges or things that you can't fix or things that just make you feel, you know, wish you could do more, every day you're moving things forward. And that it really there's really no it can't put a value on that. It's so great. I remember saying to Assemblywoman Gaeliff, uh maybe my first or second week, I had done um uh I'd helped a a woman who was an older woman um get a significant amount of money back from uh unclaimed funds in New York State. And I had spent the the day really on the phone talking to various people about this. And at the end of that, she said to me, Oh, you know, you've um you've really made the rest of my life possible. And I said to Sandy, oh, I I would do this job for free if I could afford to. And I think really guiding women to understand that they there's uh what they do, what they can do in the world, regardless of what it is, it doesn't have to be public service. Public service just happened to be my calling. But whatever they do, they can make a difference in the world and they could have, you know, they there's so much opportunity for people to really um live their passion, live in a full way. And I think relationships like the relationships that you're forming with your uh with your mentees and with the other people that you mentor, formally or informally, and with former clients, right, that you have worked with. Yes, um, really shows like, you know, congratulations on what a good life you've had, had it.

Speaker 1 34:45

Thank you. And I think it what's important is to know that I may not always have the answer, right? But let me see what I can find out. I can put you in contact with someone who does have the answer who could help you or steer you in the right direction. And I think in the beginning that was my concern. And I said, you know, what do I have to offer? Like, am I gonna have all the answers? But is there anyone that has all the answers? But you know, that relationship building and networking, you can find someone who knows the answer.

Speaker 2 35:11

And also a good little lesson is if someone tells you they have all the answers, they are speaking correctly.

unknown 35:18

Right, right.

Speaker 1 35:19

Right. And I think one of the things that means the most to me is when I'm talking to my mentee, or um, after each session, we're required to do a feedback form. Right. So she does her form and she says what we discussed, what she got out of it, and then I have to go and enter my feedback. And a recurring theme in her feedbacks is I make her feel heard. Great. That's great. And and that means the world.

Speaker 2 35:43

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And and like we said, you know, they that experience of being heard by you can help her make someone else feel heard. Yes. So we do have a question. Um, what population is part of this particular mentoring program? So just talk a little bit about how the girls get chosen. What are the criteria that they use? In this program, we know that they're high school seniors.

Speaker 1 36:05

Yes. Yes. So the Her Honor Mentoring Program website has a list of participating schools. So they actually have to be a student at one of those participating schools, and each school, as I said, has a committee. And the committee is made up of school officials, administrators, guidance counselors who nominate the young ladies, and then they complete the application to be accepted into the program.

Speaker 2 36:26

So do you know what some of the criteria are for nominate, for how they judge?

Speaker 1 36:30

Uh one of the things that they look at motivation. Right. Uh, I know they're looking at young women who uh are women of integrity, um, who are obviously pursuing higher education and um first generation higher education. Oh, yeah. So yes, so those are some of the criteria.

Speaker 2 36:48

Yeah, yeah. Oh, interesting, interesting. So that's a it's a very um highly motivated, yeah, yes, highly motivated population.

Speaker 1 36:57

Yes, it is. It is. And I mean, my mentees, like the number of AP classes that they're taking, and they're doing volunteer work at hospitals, they have jobs, babysitting, they're participating in extracurricular activities, or it's playing volleyball, so they do a lot. Yeah, now we're in prom season, so yeah, this is an exciting time. So this weekend my menti is gone prom dress shopping, so she's very excited. Yeah, um, yeah, it's a big deal.

Speaker 2 37:26

Told her that. I'm told, yeah. Um, I was just thinking about um first generation to go to college. So has that come up like the cultural expectations of either your mentees' family or mentees not understanding, you know, what some of the process is for applying, being accepted, making those decisions.

Speaker 1 37:51

Yes. Yes. And that's a good part of the lessons that they provide that we can go over um the process of financial aid, applying for, you know, different what's the difference between a scholarship, a grant, and a loan. Right. And um, it's also come up that being that they're first generation, sometimes parents aren't always very supportive of them limit living on campus. Right. They want them to commute or go to a school close by. So, you know, the mentees are trying to balance that, what my family wants, but they may want to the full college experience of living on campus in the dorm. So yes, those it those concerns do come up a little bit.

Speaker 2 38:27

Yeah. And do you ever have do you ever have contact with the family or you you just work with the mentee herself?

Speaker 1 38:34

Just work with the mentee. Yeah. But during our virtual sessions, you know, sometimes a mom will pop in and say hi or a little brother or something. Yes, yes. But it's just it's strictly the mentor, a mentee relationship. But I always let my mentee know if your parents have any questions, concerns, they want to talk to me. And when I'm inviting them to meet me for lunch or dinner, I make sure that it's okay with your parents first, you know, because I don't just want to think that it's okay and make that assumption. Sure, you know, have them meet me, you know, for lunch or something. I want to make sure that they're getting parental approval.

Speaker 2 39:04

Yeah, sure, sure. And I'm I'm assuming in in those types of situations, like with the college, what your parents' expectations are for how you're going to do college versus what you may want, some of that is coaching your mentees, like how to navigate this, what to say to your parents, how even to make the case for what you want. So yeah, yeah, that's it's it's exciting.

Speaker 1 39:24

It's very exciting. It's very exciting just to see the smiles on their faces when they get those acceptance laughs. It's the best thing. And sometimes they downplay it. You know, I said, how was your week? Because we'll do start off our session with an icebreaker and we do our rose or thorn and our bud. And uh what what exciting happened to you this week? Oh, I got accepted into three cycles three, which three tell me about it. You know, it's it's very exciting.

Speaker 2 39:50

Yeah, yeah, it's great, great time and great time in their life to have an additional person who's like so vested in in their success and so excited for them. I'm sure they it must mean a lot.

Speaker 1 40:00

It must be, I would love to have you as my mentor. Thank you, thank you. And when we talk about like we do a session about network, networking, and okay, who's in your network? And they say, Well, you're in my network, and I'm like, oh yes, yes, I am. So it's it's a great feeling. Good, great, great, and great.

Speaker 2 40:18

So I just want to remind people who are on uh the webinar, please, if you have any questions, we'd love, we'd love to answer them. Um, I would say, uh, so takeaway, if someone is interested in in working either with Harana as a mentor or any other mentoring pro program, what was the decision process that you went through when you decided you could do it?

Speaker 1 40:37

Especially since you had doubts at the beginning. Yes, yes. I looked at the website to see what it was all about because I don't want to ever just jump into something because someone else is doing it. So I really did my research. Yeah, and I would say look and see what is required. What and it's a commitment. Yeah. You have to be prepared to commit. You know, those are there are those days when I'm getting out of work later than you know, normal, or I have to run and do something, but I know that I have this commitment every Wednesday at a certain time or every Thursday. So it's really a big commitment, and you have to make sure that you're willing to live up to that commitment. If not, then you're really doing yourself and the young ladies a disservice.

Speaker 2 41:16

Yeah, yeah. So that's that that's I think that's a I think that's a great point. It's it's really more you're giving yourself versus that you have to have necessarily any kind of educational or professional credentials. It's really just it's making that commitment to being there for them. Yeah. Yeah. Yes, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 41:35

It's hard sometimes. And I tell them, I say, and and I'm sure there are times that they've had long days in school and they may not want to meet, you know, but you know, we've committed to this process and and I'm flexible, and they're flexible. So if something comes up and we can't meet Wednesday, let's meet Thursday. Are you available on the weekend? So it's about you know pivoting and just being flexible as well.

Speaker 2 41:54

Yeah, yeah. No, that well, that sounds that sounds wonderful. Um so thank you so much. I think you this has really been uh a great conversation. I've really uh learned a lot about this experience. Um, I, you know, I'm not quite prepared to to apply to be a hunter manager, but I'm hoping that there are some women out there. I'll get you sooner or later. Yeah. Well, once you punch your thing, you and Michelle out sure I will be recruited at some point. But if there are people out there who would like to be a mentor for her honor or any of the other programs that that we uh that we mentioned, we do um we do encourage you to do that. Very thrilled to have you. This is our launch of Empower Hour. We happen to be in Women's History Month still, uh, but we're going to continue this on an ongoing basis. We think this is a really um lovely opportunity to hear about some of the really great work that's happening in Westchester County and ways that we can help and support and support each other. So um I'll just call out one more time for any any questions. And um if not, we want to thank you all for being with us. Uh thank you for spending your lunch hour with us, and we hope that this has been inspirational, and we hope that at some point you'll be able to do some some mentoring work. We think that uh certainly from Katrina's experience, it's very enriching. It is, it is. So, all right. I guess we'll say I guess we'll say goodbye.