WISE Within Celebrates its Second Year of Successful Pairings
In WISE Houston’s second year of its signature WISE Within mentoring program, we had twenty women participate, resulting in ten pairings. The program launched in April at Pinot’s Palette when the pairings were announced; after they were revealed, the pairings broke the ice by creating original paintings of the Houston skyline together. There were also two check-in events this year organized by the WISE Within committee, one hosted by Landry’s at the Aquarium in May and another hosted by the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center with renowned River Oaks District stylist Stevie Bingham to learn about workplace fashion. To celebrate the conclusion of the 2018 WISE Within mentoring program, the matches and committee members joined together at Grotto downtown to share their thoughts and experiences. Here are some of the highlights:
- Our pairing was a natural fit and we used a lot of our time together bouncing ideas off each other. We developed a real friendship and will continue to challenge each other personally and professionally.
- We discussed the importance of phone calls versus text messages, recognizing that it is a key difference between our generations.
- I was so grateful that my mentor invited me to shadow her in real life. It was like seeing her advice in action and was incredibly valuable.
- I was challenged at work to revamp a program and I really needed a sounding board to help walk me through it. My mentor provided that guidance.
- I was struggling with the concept of inspiring change in an organization with lots of tenured people and my mentor helped me develop the right perspective so that I could lead the process to make change a reality.
- Confidence. That is what my mentor provided me.
- My mentee works a lot of hours and works really hard. I challenged her to consciously change her “head down” mentality.
- Initially I thought the program would be a huge investment of time and that there would be no way it could pair me with the right person. I was wrong and so grateful for the friendships created from the program.
- Helping me understand the hiring process better and how to set priorities is how my mentor influenced me the most.
It was an inspiring celebration and especially touching to witness how WISE created the opportunity for these connections and friendships to develop. We hope all WISE members consider applying to the 2019 WISE Within program to serve as a mentor or a mentee and recognize that mentors are not only helpful to women in the early stages of their careers, but at all career levels. The applications for the next cycle of the WISE Within program will be released in February 2019 and the program itself will run from April-October. You will find the links and additional information on the WISE Houston website.
Check out the photos from the Celebration.
2018 WISE Within Pairings
- Christie Feliz-Joelle Hardin
- Dawn Keen-Rena Iglehart
- Gretchen Sheirr-Muffy King
- Kelley Wohlenberg-Jesi Cox
- Lana Ramirez-Jessie Lantz
- Leah Mastaglio-Cicely Parsons
- Lisa Gagnon-Gladys Hernandez
- Shelly Harper-Tamer Knight
- Yvette Casares Willis-Lindsey Scheinthal
- Jennifer Davenport-Rachel Bubier
2018 WISE Within Committee
- Jennifer Davenport-Chair
- Emily Bloss
- Lauren Brezger
- Chalder Carlson
- Leilani Costa
- Diane Crossey
- Cristina Flores
- Nina Jackson
- Zanetta Jones
- Megan Lesser
- Dolores Lozano
- Anita Sehgal
- Alicia Vanghel