Today we’d like to introduce you to Latina Mentoring Academy. Them and their team share their story with us below:
LMA was launched in 2010 to specifically meet the unmet needs of Latina professionals in the Central Ohio area. At the inception of the Latina Mentoring Academy, we developed Latinas in the Columbus community with a focus on entrepreneurship and business. Since then, we have supported over 100 Latinas in Central Ohio through our Mentorship Program. Our alumnae now come from a diverse background of careers including: creatives, nonprofit, academia, entrepreneurs, corporate, local government, and more!
The Latina Mentoring Academy is now a five-month program that brings together Latinas in a variety of career stages for a unique professional development experience, combining professional mentorship with culturally relevant workshops and civic engagement. Our staff is passionate of our mission and volunteers their time to make this all happen! Five out of the six staff members are alumnae of the program: Jessica Caceres (Logistic Coordinator), Sandra Goya (Executive Assistant), Lillian Morales-Laster (Director), Jen Murillo (Creative Coordinator), and Nora Yepez-Ornelas (Social Media Manager). Lair Marin-Marcum serves as our Community Engagement Chair and was a co-founder of LMA!
We kick off our recruitment season in February with our I Heart Mi Hermana celebration. This is open to everyone in our community and is a celebration to empower each other! During the application process, our staff works to create pairings of mentors and mentees based on career & personal experiences as well as considering aspirations and goals. We are fortunate to have a network of women that include community leaders, former mentors, and alumnae who respond to the call of stepping up to mentor our next cycle of leaders.
Along with the mentor pairings, our participants workshops and trainings covering a range of topics including advocating for yourself in the workplace, financial wellness, public speaking, and more. Every year we revisit these topics to ensure that they are the most relevant what is currently impacting our community. Just like our call for mentors, we have outpouring support from the Columbus community for speakers. The majority of our speakers are women of color who are experts in their respective fields.
Simultaneously with attending workshops and meeting with their mentors, participants are group with their cycle Hermanas and tasked with creating a project that addresses a need in our community. These projects are then shared during Community Impact Project night! It’s always an amazing and invigorating night full of love and support from friends, family, and supporters.
Our cycles wrap up with our graduation night in October. This year we hosting graduation on October 6th. Follow our Instagram @latinamentoringacademy for more details!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Like many organizations, we had to adjust our programming through the pandemic. Shortly after our I Heart Mi Hermana event in 2020, we had to have the difficult conversation of whether or not we would have a cycle that year. We determined that then more than ever, we needed to be in community. Thankfully, by the time our cycle kicked off, our staff were pros at hosting online meetings and sessions!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are proud of being a space where Latinas can grow and be authentically ourselves while having a network of champions. By providing the program free of cost, we are able to be accessible to all participants regardless of where they are in life. Ultimately, seeing the women go through our program achieve their goals and dreams is what brings us the most joy!
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
We continue to see Latinas thrive in their respective career environments. We know that we will continue to see our participants become experts and leaders in their field. LMA will continue to evolve to meet the needs of our community and hope that everyone will continue to join us for our journey.
Pricing:
- Our Mentoring Program is free of charge!
Contact Info:
- Website: latinamentoringacademy.org
- Instagram: latinamentoringacademy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/latinamentoringacademy
Image Credits
Jen Murillo
Nora Yepez-Ornelas
