Be a part of this unique virtual mentoring event designed to bring together next generation leaders with seasoned entrepreneurs and leaders from the public, private, and non-profit sectors to grow, learn, and connect.
The Millennials Mentor
Real Leadership Virtual Mentoring Event
Fact: The “workplace” as we know it has changed.
Actually, everything has changed.
Now, more than ever, it is time to bring together next generation leaders with seasoned entrepreneurs and leaders from the public, private, and non-profit sectors.
Mentors will share their experience and expertises to help you learn, grow, and transition as the world and economy shift and adjust to our new reality.
In this unique virtual mentoring event, mentees will be able to meet with 5 mentors in 7-minute speed rounds for powerful insights, advice, recommendations, and resources.
MENTORS
MENTEES
Meet Your Mentors
Oana Amaria
Practice Leader
FireFly Inclusion
Throughout her career, Oana Amaria has played an integral role in driving culture change throughout organizations in both the private and public sectors. Her expertise in strategy development and scaling, culture/bias audits, curriculum design, and training makes her a highly sought-after partner for leaders seeking to effectively leverage the diverse talent, experiences, and backgrounds of their teams and communities.
After spending her early years growing up in Romania, Oana’s own experience emigrating to the United States as a refugee in the late 1980’s fueled her desire to create a strong community that enables individuals to succeed – no matter their identities, experiences, and cultures. Prior to consulting, Oana was a workforce development specialist, managing the Workforce Investment Act program for the State of Illinois through the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO).
In her off hours, Oana can be found playing Legos with her daughter, wrangling her Australian Shepherd ‘Bear’, or checking out new brunch spots with her partner in the Pacific Northwest. She also enjoys hiking, rock climbing, dancing and feeding her friends.
Charles Ashley III
President & Founder
Cultivating Coders
Charles Ashley III is President & Founder of Cultivating Coders, a New Mexico based company that provides technical training and curriculum in web and mobile application development to K-12 schools in tribal, rural and overlooked urban areas that lack resources in coding and computer science education. Prior to his current role, Charles was a Marketing & Strategy Consultant for several clients including Harmonix Technologies, VARA Wines and DeVry University. He previously served as Film Liaison & Marketing Manager for Bernalillo County’s Economic Development Department in New Mexico and was Manager of Marketing for CNM’s STEMulus Center. Charles currently sits on the US Eagle Federal Credit Union Advisory Board, Learning Alliance and has served on variety of boards such as New Mexico AIDS Services, Albuquerque Youth Basketball League Board, Mayor Berry’s Albuquerque Deep Dive Council for Arts & Culture and Mayor Keller’s Education Transition Team.
Michael Barrio
Advocate & External Affairs
Professional
Michael Barrio is an influential government and community affairs executive with expertise in leading public policy negotiation and development as well as strategic innovation for growth. He has a proven track record of bolstering strategic initiatives through relationship curation of business leaders, publicly elected officials, and nonprofit organizations.
Additionally, his consulting experience has allowed him to have an impact in creating, shaping, and influencing communication and public affairs strategy during various political campaigns. He is a proven leader in the execution of brand repositioning in a diverse number of industries (financial sector, solar energy, politicians/public figures, and non-profit) for optimal growth and market positioning. He currently serves on the New Mexico Health Equity Partnership, serves as Honorary Commander for the 58 SOW at Kirtland Air Force Base.
He is a NM native, NMSU Grad School Alum, and proud father & husband.
Dr. Joel Brown, PhD
Management Consultant & Coach
Pneumos LLC
Dr. Joel A. Brown is the Chief Visionary Officer of Pneumos LLC, a management consulting and coaching company based in San Francisco, USA, specializing in cultural intelligence, leadership, change management, and strategic storytelling. As a change agent, Joel works strategically with organizational leaders to cultivate innovative, creative, and adaptive environments where the cultural genius of everyone can be harnessed and leveraged successfully.
Best known for his critical analysis, creativity, humor, and his ability to build consensus, Joel has partnered with Fortune 500 Companies, non-profit organizations, and government agencies to help them achieve sustained growth and organizational breakthroughs. His clients have ranged from LinkedIn to the United Nations, and his “sweet spots” have included change management, DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging), leadership development, and intercultural communication. Joel is also an adjunct professor at the IESEG School of Management in Paris and Lille, France, where he teaches executive MBA courses on strategic storytelling and story listening. Dr. Brown also is an accomplished spoken word poet.
Adrian Carver
Executive Director
Equality New Mexico
A ninth generation New Mexican, Adrian is a hardworking and committed advocate who stands with marginalized communities and young people in New Mexico. His creativity and innovation are rooted in his values of social justice and racial healing. Adrian Neal Carver is the Executive Director of Equality New Mexico and was a candidate for the Bernalillo County Commission in this year's primary election.
Rathi Casey
Founder
UKUU Creative
Rathi Casey comes from a background of design, innovation, and visual creativity. With more than 10 years of experience in Architecture & Design, her studio focuses on holistic problem solving. Originally from Southern India, Rathi loves to travel the world, and has worked in Paris, New York, San Francisco, and Hong Kong. Her love for international design influences her work in graphics and visual experiences. Rathi was a 2019 Albuquerque Business First 40 Under Forty Honoree. She serves on the board of Explora Children's Museum, the Urban Land Institute NM and Cottonwood Classical Preparatory School. Since starting her own business, her leadership focuses on entrepreneurship, cultivating your brand, and building relationships within the community. Rathi Casey is committed to high quality design projects, dedicated to serving a greater purpose. She believes that UKUU Creative completes the circle, meeting real human needs with strong design solutions.
Save your spot now!
Space is limited.
Sonja Dewing
CEO Plot Duckies
Sonja Dewing is a freelance writer and published author. Her business, Plot Duckies, gets writers through blocks and get to the point of publishing. Her specialty is social media marketing and startup planning. She successfully launched a crowdfunding/presale campaign with Publishizer that netted her a publisher for her first novel, Toy of the Gods. She successfully used Facebook to fill her first Plot Duckies event, the Short Storyathon. And she's grown her clients, like FatPipe ABQ and Duke City Roller Derby to large fanbases.
Celestina Garcia
Ontological Coach
Celestina is a mother, facilitator, educator, and Ontologial coach and entrepreneur. She is a Native New Mexican with a passion for envisioning and collaborating with others to build a legacy of achievement in communities. A graduate of the University of New Mexico and Claremont Graduate University, Celestina brings years of leadership learning, global travel experiences and classroom teaching experiences to partnerships of success building. “We create our life and say yes to what each day looks like, this gives us all the power to breathe life into our dreams and BE the greatness we are each here to be. My passion is to support people to achieve their goals and contribute their purpose to elevate this world.”
Mariah Harrison
Nonprofit Resource Coordinator
Mariah’s background is in program management and nonprofit support. She works in community development via the creation of public/social-profit partnerships and facilitating high impact events. Mariah is a Co-Coordinator of the nonprofit speaker series Impact & Coffee, a member of the Albuquerque Involved and Future Fund boards. She is founder of the social justice fundraiser #BurqueResists and The Accent podcast, and is now the Nonprofit & Philanthropy Coordinator under the Office of Mayor Keller. Always looking for ways to connect to the environment and others, she enjoys supporting Abq’s local entrepreneurs, Crossfit, and running trails around the city.
Annemarie Henton
Vice President of Business Development and Marketing
Annemarie Ciepiela Henton, APR, is the Vice President of Business Development and Marketing for Albuquerque Economic Development Inc. She is responsible for leading the organization’s ongoing business development and marketing strategies. She is a member of AED’s recruitment team, working to bring new employers such as Netflix, Facebook and more to the Albuquerque metro area. In addition to her role at AED, Annemarie served in an executive-on-loan capacity for the City of Albuquerque’s Innovation Team(funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies)in 2015 and 2016.
Andrej Juriga
Diversity & Inclusion Consultant
Cultural Bridge
Andrej Juriga is the founder of Cultural Bridge, a training company that helps individuals, teams and organizations to navigate the challenges of diversity and to create an inclusive environment. He held leadership positions in global US companies managing PC sales in German speaking countries and later on, leading an HR team and consulting leaders from Europe, Middle East and Africa. As a certified facilitator of emotional and cultural intelligence, Andrej delivers workshops and coaching to large corporations, medium sized companies and start-ups across continents and industries helping participants to manage emotional reactions to differences and to build strategies how to bridge those differences at the organizational and personal level. Andrej lived and worked in six different countries across Europe and in Africa, and he is currently based in Slovakia, his home country, and in Hungary.
Alicia Kirson
Recruiter and Entrepreneur
Alicia Kirson is the co-founder of Top Talent, a recruiting and search firm. She is a native New Mexican who has a great fondness for her community. When she’s not glued to her phone and computer screen, she spends her time reading and volunteering with local organizations, including the organizing team for 1 Million Cups.
Save your spot now!
The number of available spaces is limited.
Bastian Kuentzel
Learning Experience Designer & Learning Companion
Incontro Training
Bastian is a father, a partner, a friend and a cook. His work lives at the intersection of Culture, Communication and Leadership. He runs intercultural trainings, facilitates management retreats, designs conference programmes and teaches at different Universities.
He is the author of “The Learner’s Journey: How to use Storytelling as a Design Principle to create powerful Learning Experiences”.
Rachael Lorenzo (They/Them)
Indigenous Women Rising, Co-Founder & Abortion Access Lead; Assistant Commissioner of Engagement, New Mexico State Land Office
Rachael Lorenzo (Mescalero Apache, Laguna Pueblo, Xicana) is a community organizer, reproductive health advocate, and professional coffee drinker. As a queer parent of two Indigenous children, Rachael envisions a world where rest is prioritized and we redistribute our resources to invest in what people love.
Kelli McLoud-Schingen
Global Diversity & Inclusion Specialist
KMS Intercultural Consulting, LLC
Kelli McLoud-Schingen, Founder and Principal Facilitator for KMS Intercultural Consulting, LLC is a Global Diversity and Inclusion Specialist. Kelli offers expertise in global diversity, equity and inclusion, storytelling, conflict resolution/mediation and inclusive leadership. She has facilitated workshops for educational, non-profit, government and corporate institutions in the USA and internationally since 1989.
Tsiporah Nephesh
Founder and Executive Director
New Mexico Thrives
Tsiporah is the Founder and Executive Director of New Mexico Thrives, New Mexico’s state nonprofit association. She left her position with the Center for Nonprofit Excellence, because she felt that New Mexico nonprofits needed a voice. The work of New Mexico Thrives challenges the assumptions of funders and decision makers that do more to maintain the status quo than to make substantive change.
Alex Neuman
Learning Designer & Co-founder
Colearn and Explore Change Partners
Alex Neuman is an experienced learning designer, trainer and facilitator. He is a co-founder of Colearn and Explore Change Partners as well as former Head of Learning Design at Hyper Island. He is the co-author of the Hyper Island Toolbox and has helped lead programs for organizations including Google, IKEA, Spotify, Greenpeace, Adidas, Condé Nast, Swedish Institute and more. Alex has also worked extensively with the Peace Education charity CISV International building curriculum and leading training around the world.
Miriam Ortiz Y Pino
Certified Professional Organizer, Simplicity Expert & Coach, Entrepreneur
Miriam Ortiz y Pino works with entrepreneurs and other busy and creative people to eliminate the distractions, simplify systems and create routines so they can do their best work and live a fuller life. The More than Organized Blog was recognized as one of the top 5 Simplicity Blogs, one of the top 100 productivity blogs, and one of the top 20 home office organizers. Miriam holds certificates in Workplace Productivity, Residential Organizing, Courageous Coaching Method, Fire Starter Session Facilitator and Sacred Money Archetypes Coaching.
Save your spot now!
Space is limited.
Brett Parry
Founder & Career Architect
The Cultural Mentor
Australian born, living in the USA. A deep faith in the ability of the curious mind to navigate expanding global horizons. I believe the skills to do this can be taught with compassion, action and knowledge, all with an intentional plan to achieve high level personal and professional outcomes. I am a cross-cultural consultant and facilitator, speaker, mentor and coach. At the Cultural Mentor, I lead a global network teaching better understand of cultural gaps and how to bridge them.
Megan Pauly
Marketing Specialist
Rinchem Company
Megan, grew up in Aurora, Colorado, and moved to New Mexico to attend school and play on the Women’s Soccer Team for the University of New Mexico. After graduating, she decided to stay in the Land of Enchantment and to pursue a career in marketing. Megan has over ten years of marketing experience working for a variety of local companies in Albuquerque. She recently started working for Rinchem, the largest network of chemical and gas distributors globally, to help build and grow their marketing team. Additionally, she contracts with a local marketing agency, High Tide Marketing, to develop and execute numbers campaigns for a variety of clients. She also volunteers by serving as past-president on the Board of Directors for Young Professionals of Albuquerque and volunteers for Junior Achievement of New Mexico. Megan currently lives in Albuquerque with her husband, Sean, and their son, Bodie.
Julianne Phares
Director of External Affairs
Comcast
Julianne Phares is Director of External Affairs for Comcast in New Mexico where she leads external communications and community investment. Julianne has 10 years of combined agency and corporate communications experience working in a variety of industries and is the current board president of the New Mexico chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. Julianne earned her B.A. in Mass Communications from the University of New Mexico. A native of Seattle, Washington, Julianne lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with her husband and son.
Giovanna Rossi
President & CEO
Collective Action Strategies, LLC
Giovanna is a leadership consultant and results coach with 20+ years working with entrepreneurs, government and non-profits to improve the lives of women and families using intersectional feminism and mindfulness. She holds a Master of Science degree in Public Policy from the London School of Economics and is the founder of the Family Friendly Business Award® and host of The Well Woman Show on NPR One.
Pauline Vromans
Trainer & Lecturer
Intercultural Minds
Pauline’s company, Intercultural Minds, provides training, advice and research in intercultural issues, working on developing intercultural competence and intercultural mindsets. She also teaches at the University of Amsterdam.
Pauline is a trilingual interculturalist. Born to Dutch parents, she grew up as an expatriate child in the Canary Islands, Madrid and Switzerland. In the last fifteen years, she has lived and worked/studied in the Netherlands, Mexico, Costa Rica, Australia and the USA.
Previously, Pauline gained business and management experience through her work in her co-owned distribution company, where she worked with suppliers from around the world.
Keith Allen West
Founder & CEO
Wild West Skincare
An Actor and Entrepreneur, Keith Allen West is known for his energetic presentations on branding, marketing and extreme career growth strategies. He applies his wildly successful entrepreneur skills to acting as a business. He has worked with actors and directors from multiple Academy Award winning films. Since 2014 he has reached the Inc. 500/5000 list with two of his cosmetics companies by growing revenue over 1,000%.
Amy Whitfield
Special Projects Coordinator
CYFD Office of the Secretary
Amy Whitfield is Special Projects Coordinator for the NM Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD). Ms. Whitfield has had a strong career in social services working in small non-profits serving numerous groups in both direct service and non-profit executive management. In her current role she is responsible for planning and implementing projects that move forward the strategic plan goals of CYFD Administration.
Save your spot now!
The number of available spaces is limited.
About Your Host
Tamara Thorpe is a leadership expert and world-renowned champion for talented Millennial & Gen Z professionals–aka the next great generation of leaders. With a dynamic and compassionate approach to leadership development, Tamara helps emerging leaders build their legacies by effectively dealing with day-to-day challenges of leadership, as well as focusing on the future by helping them learn to create culturally smart, inclusive workplaces (aka “woke” workplaces).
A firm believer that people matter most to an organization’s success, Tamara brings over 30+ years of on-the-ground experience with leading international and multicultural teams, as well as an extensive background in mentoring and leadership, identity development, diversity & inclusion and intergenerational issues to the table.
Tamara is committed to creating spaces and opportunities for people to be mentored and access the support and resources they need to succeed personally and professionally.
How Will Virtual Mentoring Work?
Mentor Selection: Mentees will be able to review and select their preferred mentors, and the match-ups will be assigned in advance. We will do our best to ensure mentees are able to connect with their preferences; however, based upon demand, mentees may be assigned to other mentors; a great opportunity for serendipitous mentoring.
Event Flow: We will open the event with warm welcome, quick introductions, and then jump right into the speed mentoring. Each round will be a 7 minute one-on-one mentor session, with a 3-minute break between each session to transition to the next round. We will close the event with a short group debrief to share the highlights and insights from the mentor sessions.
The Tech: We will be using the Zoom platform so each mentor-mentee pair will be able to talk one-on-one in a private virtual breakout room. Both mentors and mentees will be provided with guiding questions and discussion ideas prior to the event to help you maximize your speed mentoring rounds.