Mentorship is more than a recurring 1:1. It's deliberate time to be challenged, pushed, and coached — for you, not the work. I show up for the relationship the way I'd want a mentor of mine to show up for me.
I am passionate about the success of others. Mentorship is the highest-leverage thing a senior person can do — one conversation can change a trajectory, and I've watched it work in both directions. Over almost three decades, I've worked with people across every stage of life and career, and many of them have found their inherent greatness in the process.
There's no framework for the work itself. It's presence, patience, and honesty — in that order.
Presence. I meet mentees where they are. Not where I wish they were. Not where their title suggests they should be. Where they actually are.
Patience. Growth is not a sprint. Most of the real movement happens between the conversations, not in them.
Honesty. I'll tell you what I see. I'll tell you what I don't know. I'll tell you when I think you're wrong — and I'll listen when you tell me I am.
Mentorship isn't one thing. It bends to the person and the moment. Here are the six kinds I offer, and who each is for.
Teenagers today navigate social pressures, academic struggles, dysfunction at home, and the universal pull to fit in. Having raised five kids to adulthood, I've counseled teenagers — my own and many of their friends — through these storms with compassion and encouragement. The situations vary; the goal is the same: help them see their own value clearly.
Young adults — 18 to 29 — face a stacked deck: an economy that's harder to enter, college that costs more than it ever has, and wages that haven't kept up with inflation. I work with young adults on the practical foundations of independent living and a long-term plan for the kind of life they actually want — not the one defaulted to them.
Maybe you're stuck in a role you've outgrown, navigating a difficult manager, or sizing up a major career move. I help you build the strategy for what's next, prepare you for the obstacles between you and it, and coach you on how to thrive once you land — not just how to get there.
Three decades in technology — instructor, advisor, product designer, scrum master. Large-scale systems, monolithic legacy codebases, open source, enterprise software. DevOps, server configuration, database tuning. If you want to level up your technical depth or your breadth, I can help you find the path.
My path into management was indirect and unexpected — and one of the best parts of my career. I work with first-time managers stepping into the role, and seasoned managers wanting to level up. Empowering managers takes tact, vision, and tenacity — the same qualities the role demands of them.
Coaching leaders has been the most rewarding part of my career. I work with aspiring executives ready to put in the work, and existing leaders sharpening for what's next. I can't teach hunger or desire — but if you have those, I can help you channel them into the leader you're meant to become.
I keep a small number of active mentees at a time. If that number is open, I'll say yes. If it isn't, I'll be honest about that too.
If you run a mentorship program — for students, for career-changers, for young leaders — and you need a partner, reach out.
Covered separately on the Speaking page.
Tell me whether you're reaching out as a mentee, a program partner, or something else — I'll route the conversation from there.