Is A Mentoring Visit In Your Future?

After a two-year COVID hiatus, the Friends Partnership Mentoring Program, funded by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to support refuge and hatchery Friends, is once again able to hold in-person visits. The program is a peer-based, face-to-face coaching opportunity between a mentor team (Service employee and Friends member) and the Friends board of directors and Service staff from the requesting field station. Visit focus areas, which depend on the needs described in the mentoring application, include management of a Friends organization, strengthening the Friends/Service partnership, and dealing with change or other challenging situations.

Mentor visits require a serious commitment and the willingness to work together to chart a successful future, but there is time for fun, active learning, and making new Friends—and friends! For more information, contact your regional Friends coordinator or check the USFWS website. Applications for the next round of mentoring are due October 31, 2022.

A mentor team recently visited Rachel Carson NWR to work with their Service staff and Friends. The photo on the right shows a team composed of both Service staff and Friends in the midst of action planning—discussing strategies for moving forward with joint priorities. The photo above is a group photo of all who participated in the 2-day mentoring workshop—lots of smiling faces!