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🚀 Currently: Michigan Technological University
💼 Formerly: University of Michigan, UP Health System-Portage
🧰 Offering my time and talents to: NORDP2023 Conference (co-chair), NORDP Communications Working Group (co-chair), NORDP-GL Executive Committee, NORDP Mentoring Committee, Copper Country Ski Tigers (Level 1 coach)
A Day in the Life of Mentoring Committee Volunteers
By Mentoring Committee Marketing and Communication Team (McMc)
The NORDP Mentoring Committee (MC) held another successful annual open house on Jan 15, 2026. More than 20 prospective and current Mentoring Committee members joined to hear from experienced colleagues about the psychological benefits of mentoring and what different MC roles entail.
A lively panel discussion centered around “A Day in the Life” of a Mentoring Committee volunteer showcased eight distinct MC roles and what it meant to be a volunteer in each role.Here is a recap of the panelists’ responses:
Matt Schwartz is the senior program manager for faculty development at UMass Chan Medical School, who manages a faculty development and mentorship program for early-career faculty. He feels the Mentor Training Team (MTT) is a natural place where he can jump in and help support better mentoring for RD professionals. The MTT meets throughout the year but the main focus is in February and March, when an intense mentor training workshop is offered to the NORDP members. The training regimens (two mentor trainings per week) are offered using evidence-based practices adopted from CIMER for RD. As a volunteer, Matt learns how to facilitate and gains experience through co-facilitating with someone who is more experienced.
Jet LeBlanc, Lead Coach and Team Development Consultant at ATG, and Sujatha Koduvayur, Director, Research Development at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, are both volunteer conveners of two different Peer Mentoring Groups (PMGs)—Coaching and RD and AI in RD, respectively. They reflected on the fun they had interacting with their PMG members and noted that the time commitment is between 2 and 4 hours per month, including the 1-hour monthly online meeting with the group. PMGs are unique because they are not time-bound to a program year and NORDP members can join a PMG at any time!
Jess Brassard, Director of Research Development and Communication, serves on the Mentoring Committee Marketing and Communication (McMc) subcommittee and the broader Communication Working Group (CWG), though serving on the CWG is not required for McMc members. Jess shared that the McMc has one monthly meeting per month apart from the full Mentoring Committee meeting. During meetings, the subcommittee collaboratively drafts content for blog posts which profile mentoring activities and Mentoring Committee offerings—about one blog post per month is typical. This is a fun and easy fit for NORDP members who like writing. To join the co-working fun on the McMc, send a note to mentorprogram@nordp.org.
Vess Vassileva-Clarke, Director of Research Development at University of Michigan – Dearborn, highlighted the opportunity to serve on the Match Team. The Match Team’s efforts are focused during a short, intense period once a year, usually in April–May. The work involves serving as humans-in-the-loop for the mentoring matching program algorithm (housed in Wisdom Share) to make sure optimal matches are made. Joining the Mentoring Match team can be a short-term commitment and can be satisfying to know that you’ve helped connect people to start new relationships. To join this team and help with annual matching, attend the April or May Mentoring Committee meeting and let the group know you are interested, or send a message to mentorprogram@nordp.org!
The open house highlighted Mentoring Committee membership, activities, and events. As a reminder:
The PMGs are open at any time.
The 2026-27 mentoring year for dyads and cohorts will conclude in June. New matched dyads and cohorts for the 2026-27 mentoring year will launch in July 2026. The application portal will be open in May—look for the announcement in the NORDP Monthly newsletter.
The Mentoring Committee is looking forward to a productive 2026 with volunteers!
Written by Gerry Foo and the Mentoring Committee Marketing and Communications (McMc) Team
At the January Mentoring Committee Open House, we had the great pleasure of hosting a guest speaker, Dr. Gerry Foo, to talk about the psychological benefits of mentoring and volunteer work. We want to thank Gerry for generously sharing his perspectives through this blog reflection.
Dr. Gerry Foo
Dr. Gerry Foo is a Senior Research Development Specialist at Tufts University. Prior to this, he spent almost two decades as a clinical psychologist providing consultation to families, schools, clinics, and hospitals. Gerry recently transitioned to this role in research development to leverage his extensive background and experience in psychology to effectively consult with teams of investigators to improve strategy to secure funding for their research.
Speaker Reflection
Written by Dr. Gerry Foo
With January being National Mentoring Month, I could think of no better time to share all the benefits you can get from being a mentor or a volunteer. In particular, there are specific psychological benefits that you can receive by serving as a mentor in the Mentoring Program or a volunteer for the Mentoring Committee.
If you’ve ever considered becoming a mentor for the Mentoring Program, I encourage you to learn more about the program and how it can be mutually beneficial to both the mentor and mentee. For example, research has shown that serving as a mentor helps you:
Gain perspective and improve problem-solving in your own work
Grow leadership capacity
Gain confidence in your knowledge/skills
Feel connected to a supportive community
Gain a sense of meaning in your work
In addition, a recent study by the University of Cambridge found that mentoring reduced anxiety/stress and improved mental health for both mentors and mentees, and that sharing one’s own knowledge and experience allowed mentors to feel greater appreciation, satisfaction, and purpose (Gill et al., 2018). Similarly, a recent meta-analysis of the effects of volunteering revealed wide-ranging and long-lasting personal benefits for volunteers, including improved general health, quality of life, psychological well-being, pride and empowerment, motivation, self-efficacy, positive affect, sense of connectedness, and purpose (Nichol et al., 2024).
However, some of us might hesitate to volunteer because of these thoughts:
“I don’t have enough time.”
“The meeting times don’t fit my schedule.”
“I have nothing to contribute.”
“I don’t want to make an ongoing commitment.”
“I’m not good at the kind of work that goes on in the Mentoring Committee.”
Similarly, some of us might be reluctant to mentor because of these ideas:
“I don’t know what to expect.”
“What if my mentee and I don’t mesh well?”
“I’m already a mentee; I can’t do both, can I?”
These statements are all understandable reasons why becoming a mentor or a volunteer right now might feel like a challenge. In fact, many (if not all) of us who volunteer have had some of these same reasons as we weighed the pros and cons of becoming a mentor or a volunteer. Yet, despite these doubts, we can all make the effort to adjust our busy schedules and give even just a bit of our time as we learn more about the benefits of serving others.
The Mentoring Committee is a diverse and fun group of NORDP members who rely on and support each other, and each of us has found a way to contribute to its mission in our own unique and creative ways. If you’ve ever considered joining the Mentoring Committee, I encourage you to reach out to learn more about how you can help by giving even just a bit of your time. Find out more about the Mentoring Committee by contacting mentorprogram@nordp.org.
References:
Nichol, B., Wilson, R., Rodrigues, A. et al. Exploring the Effects of Volunteering on the Social, Mental, and Physical Health and Well-being of Volunteers: An Umbrella Review. Voluntas 35, 97–128 (2024).
Written by: NORDP’s Mentoring Committee Marketing and Communications (MCMC) Team
January is officially the Mentoring Month, and the NORDP Mentoring Committee (MC) is excited to showcase a lineup of resources, stories, and opportunities to help you thrive in your mentoring journey. Whether you’re an experienced mentor or just starting out, there’s something for everyone. Here is what our mentors and mentees said about the NORDP Mentoring Program:
Mentoring Committee Open House
Join us on January 15, 2pm ET for our monthly meeting to learn more about what the Mentoring Committee does, and find out how to get involved and join us. Rising Co-chair and former clinical psychologist Gerry Foo, Ph.D., will make a presentation on the psychological benefits of mentoring. We will also have invited panelists sharing their “A Day in the Life” of a Mentoring Committee member.
Dr. Gerry Foo is a Senior Research Development Specialist at Tufts University. Prior to this, he spent almost two decades as a clinical psychologist providing consultation to families, schools, clinics, and hospitals. Gerry recently transitioned to this role in research development to leverage his extensive background and experience in psychology to effectively consult with teams of investigators to improve strategy to secure funding for their research.
Key dates on Mentoring for 2026:
January 1, 2026: National Mentoring Month begins. January 7, 2026: I Am a Mentor Day. January 15, 2026: Mentoring Committee Open House January 19, 2026: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. January 21, 2026: Thank Your Mentor Day. January 27–February 26, 2026: Mentor Training for Research Development Professionals (registration is full) February 4-6, 2026: National Mentoring Summit.
Contributors: NORDP Mentor Training Team Paula Carney, Loyola University Chicago, and Kristin Boman, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Mentor Training for Research Development Professionals – Registration Open forJanuary/February 2026Workshop
Are you a mentor? A mentee? Do you find yourself formally or informally mentoring staff or faculty? Are you ready to explore mentoring competencies that can be utilized across the work of research development (RD)? This interactive workshop series covers the 9-module Entering Mentoring curriculum, initially developed for mentoring researchers and tailored for RD professionals. A past workshop attendee commented:
“EXCELLENT training! The ideas presented are very applicable both to mentoring within the research development profession and elsewhere in the research enterprise – the things I have learned and practiced in this course are incredibly valuable to me as I provide mentoring to faculty, particularly early stage investigators and junior faculty, in the area of grantsmanship.”
Using evidence-based strategies, participants will build upon competencies crucial to the success of the mentoring relationship and expand mentor training across the research enterprise. Participants who complete the entire curriculum will receive a certificate of completion. The curriculum results from an association between the NORDP Mentoring Committee and the University of Wisconsin Center for Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) in collaboration with the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN), organizations involved in developing and validating the original curriculum. RD professionals at all levels of mentoring will explore how mentoring (shown to improve career outcomes, impact employee engagement and retention, and lead to more inclusive work environments) can benefit mentors and mentees in RD.
Workshops will be presented and facilitated by the NORDP Mentoring Committee; many are certified CIMER Trained Facilitators. Over 120 NORDP members have been trained through this initiative.
Schedule:
Two 1.5-hour sessions each week for 5 weeks (every Tuesday and Thursday*) 1/27/26 – 2/26/26 2–3:30 pm EST / 11 am–12:30 pm PST
As the format is highly interactive, participants must agree to participate in at least 9 of 10 sessions.
The traditional mentoring dyad (1:1 mentor-mentee) program has been a NORDP member feature since 2012. The Cohort Mentoring Group, piloted in July 2022, consists of matching three mentees with similar interests with one shared mentor. Both the dyad and cohorts are matched based on the WisdomShare matching algorithm.
This month, we caught up with a dyad mentee-mentor pair, Brady Liss (Mentee) and Becky Milczarek (Mentor) from the 2024-2025 mentoring program year to share their experiences with NORDP.
Becky Milczarek (she/her), mentor Assistant Director, Office of Research Development University of Illinois Chicago
Rebecca (Becky) Milczarek, Ph.D., University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) • Becky is an Assistant Director in the campus-level Office of Research Development at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Dr. Milczarek’s formal training is in Food Science and Chemical Engineering, and she spent the first decade of her career in the roles of researcher and proposal reviewer in the federal government before pivoting to academic RD in 2021. Becky elevates the UIC research enterprise by connecting investigators with collaborators and funding, managing the limited submissions process for the campus, and guiding early career and seasoned investigators alike toward a reviewer-centric approach to proposal narrative development.
Brady Liss (he/him), mentee Grant Proposal Developer University of Vermont
Brady Liss, PhD, University of Vermont • Brady is a Grant Proposal Developer for the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Vermont. Brady completed his PhD in Anthropological Archaeology at the University of California San Diego, before joining the Research Development team in May 2023. As archaeology is uniquely situated at the intersection of the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, he leverages his previous research experiences to best support faculty across a variety of departments and disciplines in the college.
Q1: What influenced you to apply to be a mentor and a mentee for the 2024-2025 NORDP Mentoring Program?
Brady: Like many research development professionals, I didn’t anticipate (or frankly even know about) a career in research development until I applied for my current position as a grant proposal developer at the University of Vermont. In turn, I was looking for opportunities to develop professionally in this new (to me) field. The NORDP Mentoring Program seemed like the perfect opportunity to gain insights from someone with more experience. Further, as I can find networking in larger settings intimidating or overwhelming, the opportunity to join a 1:1 dyad was very appealing!
Becky: I had previous positive experiences as a mentee in a NORDP mentoring dyad in 2022-2023 and a cohort in 2023-2024. Although I’m still relatively new to the field of RD, I felt confident enough to start paying it forward as a mentor in 2024-2025. I still recognize I have a lot to learn, though, and thus also participated as a mentee in 2024-2025 – I really enjoyed being a part of a “mentorship sandwich” and am continuing this approach in the current program year.
Q2: What is your favorite part of your relationship?
Brady: My favorite part about my mentor-mentee relationship with Becky was the open and fluid conversations. We established specific topics for each of our monthly meetings, but allowed the conversation to naturally progress to other subjects. I also enjoyed the opportunity to discuss navigating the current federal funding landscape in a multi-generational NORDP mentor-mentee meeting; Becky’s former mentor joined the conversation.
Becky: For better or worse, it was really “misery loves company” in the 2024-2025 academic year. All in the RD profession will recognize the myriad challenges and upheavals during this period, and it was grounding to have regular, candid conversations with a colleague going through the same experiences.
Q3:How has participation in the Mentoring Program helped broaden your horizons about Research Development in general and/or affected your daily work in particular?
Brady: My participation in the mentoring program certainly broadened my horizons concerning research development. Sometimes as a grant proposal developer, I can become hyper-focused on supporting the individual grant. However, research development is bigger than any one grant. Meeting with Becky helped reiterate this concept. For example, we explored issues of inclusive language and transparency in funding announcements, leveraging LinkedIn to expand resources and connections, engaging with other fields entirely, etc. Based on Becky’s insights and suggestions, I am exploring new avenues to raise awareness about research development careers among archaeologists.
Becky: My discussions with Brady gave me a deeper appreciation for both the diversity of RD activities and the commonalities across the profession. Nominally, Brady and I do not have much overlap in our day-to-day RD responsibilities: Brady primarily supports proposal development within a college, while I focus on campus-wide faculty professional development, funding opportunity discovery, and limited submissions. It was enlightening for me to hear more about the proposal development side of the shop, and I’m hoping Brady learned a bit about some more upstream RD activities. At the same time, we definitely identified and explored common themes, mostly having to do with better understanding and serving our clientele. Enabling productive communication with various stakeholders, offering the right support at the right time, and navigating a rapidly shifting research funding landscape are (I will declare here) universal RD themes that we touched on this past year.
Q4: What surprised you about being a mentor or a mentee?
Brady: I don’t think I was necessarily surprised by any particular aspect of being a mentee, but the program did emphasize the unique collegiality of NORDP members (which was a bit of a surprise compared to previous professional organizations I have participated in). Whenever I have a conversation about NORDP, a primary talking point is always the kindness of the members and their willingness to help. Despite being in a slightly different role and having more experience in the field, Becky exemplified this in her openness to discussing any topic of interest and through dedicating her time to this process.
Becky: I knew the NORDP mentoring program was intended to be mentee-driven, but I was surprised at how graciously Brady took up this mantle. He kept us on track with our discussion topics and was proactive in (re)scheduling our meetings, but he always showed flexibility when new circumstances or opportunities arose. I suppose I should not have been surprised at this!
Q5: What made you decide to maintain a longer-term mentoring relationship, and how has it impacted you?
Brady: I really value the opportunity to learn from others, especially when they have more and/or different experience(s) in a given space; Becky fits both these qualifications. Being fairly new to research development with a background in the humanities, I was grateful for the opportunity to learn from Becky, who has served as an assistant director of research development for over four years with a background in food engineering. Our meetings were also consistently comfortable, open, and insightful, making it an easy decision to maintain a longer-term mentoring relationship to continue learning and sharing.
Becky: It was a pleasure to connect with Brady through this program, so I was happy to suggest we touch base a few times a year as we both progress in our careers. I’m looking forward to hearing about Brady’s accomplishments, challenges, and a-ha! moments.
Q6: Any words of wisdom or encouragement for those wanting to apply next year? Any other thoughts you would like to share?
Brady: In the past, I likely would have avoided this type of opportunity. I decided to go for it based on two factors: 1) my experiences interacting with research development professionals, which were always cordial, collegial, and kind, and 2) the smaller setting (a 1:1 dyad) with low-stakes (open discussion, one-hour meetings, once per month) sounded ideal. Now having “completed” the program, I am grateful I did, and I would encourage others to do the same.
Becky: NORDP has built a wonderful mentorship infrastructure, so I highly recommend getting involved as a mentee, mentor, or both. Having been in both a cohort and a few dyads, I can say both models have their strengths. Dyads offer more customizability and focus for a mentee with clear goals going into the program. Cohorts provide instant networking and a wider variety of perspectives and experiences. I encourage prospective mentees and mentors to try both options at least once and keep in mind that every mentoring relationship will be different, regardless of the number of folks involved.
On a practical note – be aware of the program signup window! In early spring, the start of the mentoring year may seem a long way off, but don’t miss your chance to participate.
Applications for the 2026-2027 mentoring match cycle will open in the spring of 2026 — keep an eye out for NORDP announcements. Additional mentoring opportunities are available through the Peer Mentoring Groups that are open for participation throughout the year via the WisdomShare platform [LINK: https://nordpmentoring.mywisdomshare.com/]. Contact the NORDP Mentoring Committee if you have any questions at mentoringprogram@nordp.org.
An investment in mentoring is an investment in you!
Peer Mentoring Group (PMG) Conveners: Sujatha Koduvayur, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; and Brooke Gowl, Appalachian State University
The AI in RD Peer Mentoring Group (PMG) is now being launched to provide a vehicle for supporting NORDP members interested in using artificial intelligence (AI) in their research development (RD) practice, such as instructing researchers on how to securely and efficiently incorporate AI in their work.
The 2025 NORDP Conference included several sessions that addressed the use of AI in RD. AI, when used judiciously, can significantly impact research endeavors by strengthening the practice of RD. Currently, RD professionals are using AI to perform targeted grant searches; assist with proposal development by creating summaries, checklists, and other resources from notice of funding opportunities (NOFOs) and other solicitation guidelines; and support team science practices by creating ideation meeting summaries and identifying potential collaborators. Having a PMG to disseminate these practices, learn from each other, and jointly find better and more efficient ways to leverage AI tools in our work directly aligns with NORDP’s mission to advance RD as a profession.
The AI in RD PMG will share current practices and explore new ways to:
include AI in our RD daily practice,
learn about privacy and ethical concerns,
discuss program director-invited presentations on AI applications,
design and develop faculty resources on best practices for AI-assisted grantwriting,
converse about other AI-related topics in RD.
The PMG will invite external experts for guest lectures in addition to the discussion of case studies encountered by PMG members who currently use AI in their daily tasks.
NORDP Members can view and join PMGs via the WisdomShare Platform or you can email Sujatha Koduvayur or Brooke Gowl to learn more about and get involved with the new AI in RD PMG. Questions about the WisdomShare platform can be directed to mentorprogram@nordp.org.
NORDP Members interested in learning more about all eight active PMGs, including AI in RD, can join the 2025-2026 Peer Mentoring Group Kickoff on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, from 1:00–2:00 PM Eastern.
In addition to the new AI in RD PMG, the following seven PMGs are also currently active:
AI in RD: exploring the use of AI in research development workflow and applications
Career & Professional Development:exploring how to become more efficient and effective in our roles
Coaching & RD:developing and implementing coaching as part of the research development (RD) skillset
Collaboration & Team Science:building collaborations and interdisciplinary research programs
Faculty Development:supporting RD professionals who perform faculty development through programming and workshops
Leadership & Management:leading in both official and unofficial capacities
Proposal Development & Project Management for Research:Supporting proposal development for faculty grant seeking and leveraging project management tools and methodologies to enhance efficiency and success in securing extramural funding
Strategic Planning & Advancement:guiding policy and planning for enhanced research and scholarship
Vessela Vassileva-Clarke, Co-Chair of the NORDP Mentoring Committee
Fall marks an exciting start to a new mentoring cycle at NORDP! The 2025-2026 mentoring year runs from July through June, and we’re thrilled to welcome all mentors and mentees—whether matched in a dyad or part of a mentoring cohort—into this year’s program.
The June 25 Mentor Program Orientation featured this year’s NORDP Mentoring Award recipient and Mentoring Committee Co-Chair, Angela Jordon. New and returning participants were introduced to the program and joined breakout sessions based on their role—mentor or mentee—and format—dyad or cohort—to learn more about what to expect in the year ahead.
Behind the scenes, the Mentoring Committee, including the Match Team and the Mentoring Leadership Team, has worked diligently to make that stellar start possible. Updating our WisdomShare platform, opening the application window, carefully reviewing and confirming matches to ensure the best possible pairings for all participants, answering numerous emails about program registration, mentoring profiles, etc., are just a few of the tasks they completed. On behalf of both current and past NORDP Mentor Program participants, we extend our heartfelt appreciation and thank them for making the entire process feel easy and seamless!
We are especially excited to continue our mentoring cohorts, now in their fourth year! In this model, three mentees are matched with one mentor, creating a small community for ongoing peer‑mentoring discussions. Thank you to the many dedicated individuals who volunteered to serve as mentors—whether in dyads or cohorts—this year. Your willingness to share your time and expertise makes this program thrive.
Tips for New Mentors and Mentees
If you’re just getting started, here are a few quick tips to help you make the most of your experience:
Log in to WisdomShare for your mentor/mentee’s contact information, messaging tools, and suggested milestones
Explore the Learning tab in WisdomShare for guidance on where to begin
Visit your WisdomShare Dashboard to find active Peer Mentoring Groups (PMGs), and join the ones that interest you—no matching is required for PMGs!
If your mentor or mentee(s) hasn’t reached out yet, don’t wait—take the initiative to connect! There’s no single “right” way to engage
Attend the monthly Mentoring Committee Meetings (3rd Thursday of the month all year) to learn the latest mentoring news and share your mentoring experiences and ideas with a group of NORDP members who are truly into mentoring
Watch for upcoming McHuddles—informal gatherings hosted by Mentoring Committee facilitators where you can share ideas, ask questions, and learn from others through supportive and fun interactions
Have questions, concerns, or suggestions? Reach out to us anytime at mentorprogram@nordp.org
Share Your Story!
The Mentoring Committee is always looking to highlight mentoring experiences. If you were part of a 2024–25 mentoring dyad or cohort and would like to share your story in a future blog post, please contact the McMc team at mentorprogram@nordp.org.
Here’s to a successful and inspiring 2025-2026 mentoring year—thank you for being part of it!
The NORDP Consultants Program is partnering with the Center for Enhancing Research Capacity for MSIs, which is led by the City University of New York (CUNY) John Jay College of Criminal Justice (NIJ-CERC-MSIs-JJC) and funded by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), an institute within the Department of Justice.
NIJ-CERC-MSIs-JJC aims to bolster the research infrastructure and capabilities of MSIs within criminal justice. The center’s mission is threefold: to increase MSIs’ competitiveness in research, to support the growth of research funding for MSI investigators, and to broaden the community of MSI researchers engaged in addressing criminal and juvenile justice issues.
“We are delighted to partner with the NORDP Consultants Program and leverage the program’s expertise strengthening research infrastructure,” said Dr. Joel Capellen, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at John Jay College and principal investigator of NIJ-CERC-MSIs-JJC, “together, we hope to not only support criminal justice researchers but also research enterprise leaders, who are critical to the supporting research infrastructure.”
The NORDP Consultants Program will leverage its expertise in a new collaborative initiative called the Research Enterprise Administrators and Leaders (REAL) Cohort, a one-year cohort program that will provide a forum for research enterprise leaders to engage with peers and national experts to explore topics relevant to strengthening the MSI research enterprise. Research enterprise leaders interested in participating in this virtual program can apply here by September 17, 2025.
First awarded in 2022, the NORDP Mentoring Award recognizes an individual NORDP member’s unique ability to provide an engaging, supportive, and inclusive environment for professional and/or personal growth through mentorship in the research development community. This award is bestowed with the acknowledgment that effective mentoring occurs through formal and informal channels and may vary in style and substance.
Who: Paula Carney
Where: Loyola Chicago University
Number of years in research development: It depends. Paula started doing what she likes to call “Research Career Development” when she was a faculty member, perhaps beginning in the 2008/2009 timeframe.
Length of NORDP membership: 6 years
Q: How did you first get involved with research development and mentoring?
A: My journey with research career development—focusing on the person doing the research—began when I was a faculty member in Nutrition and Public Health at the University of Tennessee. As one of the only social scientists in a primarily basic science department, I often found myself explaining, mentoring, and bridge-building.
When I relocated to Chicago and joined Northwestern University, I worked with Holly Falk-Kryzisinki as our team developed their Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA). I served as the PhD director for all education and training programs through the CTSA in the medical school. My role included adapting Chris Pfund’s training program for clinical and translational researchers, with significant involvement in curriculum development—this was around 2009.
I later expanded my mentor training at Northwestern to include the medical school and eventually the entire university. I discovered that having an effective approach to mentoring was crucial, especially for those situations where a mentee gets the greatest, best-known mentor in the world, but isn’t getting any actual mentoring.” We developed programs for postdocs and junior faculty before there was an established curriculum.
My career path then led me to Chicago State University, a minority-serving institution, where I served as dean, associate provost, and professor. Though we didn’t have a formal program, I continued with informal mentoring, which was always my approach. After some family needs arose, I stepped back and joined Loyola’s School of Social Work, where I could concentrate on people and outcomes in an urban environment, both very near to my heart.
When the pandemic hit, I pivoted to focus more on consulting individuals—the one-to-one aspects of mentoring rather than group activities. Despite the challenges along the way, it’s been an extremely satisfying experience professionally, allowing me to apply all my previous experiences in new contexts.
Q: What was your initial understanding of mentoring and how has that grown over time?
A: I think I initially came to mentoring through my role as a faculty member. I’ve always been drawn to it because it’s such a natural part of career development. When we consider the various developmental roles in research—mentoring, consulting, educating, training, and supervising—I found myself naturally moving between these roles depending on the needs of the interaction.
For me, mentoring was always an extension of my role as an educator. I quickly learned that just because you train people doesn’t mean they’ll succeed—there are different tests and challenges they’ll face. That’s why I look at things both at the individual and organizational level, and everywhere in between.
My understanding has evolved to become more visual over time. I see mentoring as existing along several continuums—from individual to organizational, and from organic to more structured approaches. The key is figuring out the space you need to be in and what the person, group, or organization needs at any point in time. It’s very dynamic.
This perspective has been valuable in our work with the NORDP Mentoring Committee, where we’re recognized as an exemplar for association-based mentoring. We’re now exploring how to extend this approach to other job classifications and components of the research enterprise.
Q: What does being a good mentor mean to you?
A: Good mentoring means mentoring from the side. I picture the mentoring relationship as two (or more) people sitting together—none having more power than another. It’s about figuring out how to help each other. I also believe that research development professionals have so much knowledge and influence to help faculty. So good mentoring means owning that influence and building that knowledge and influence into service for faculty.
Q: What do you wish you had known when you began your mentoring journey?
A: Trust yourself. Trust your intuition. Nothing’s going to break, and you’re not going to do anything wrong. I’d also recommend reading and exploring broadly and taking time for reflection.
I often use the iceberg metaphor—what you see is just 10% of what’s there. The real learning comes from getting beneath your neck and out of your head. It’s about trusting and recognizing your intuition through reflection and taking time to explore the softer side of mentoring.
I wish I had known sooner that we all have our saboteurs—those little voices that sit on your shoulder saying, “Don’t do that. Nobody’s going to be interested in that.” You need to silence those voices.
Another important realization is that while you should focus on the mentee, much of what they need is already inside them. You’re just guiding them a little bit, helping them discover their own path. I had one mentee who realized at the end of our formal relationship that she didn’t want to be in this field at all. So our work shifted to figuring out where she actually wanted to be.
That’s the beauty of mentoring relationships—sometimes they evolve beyond the original context. The connections continue because you genuinely like each other and continue to learn together. It’s really, really cool.
Q: What have you found most rewarding, and most challenging, about being a mentor?
A: One of the most rewarding aspects has been developing a vision for how mentoring can function at both individual and organizational levels. The dynamic nature of finding the right space to meet people’s needs at any given moment is both challenging and fulfilling.
A particularly rewarding project was developing a logic model last year with Kristin Boumann that positions NORDP as an exemplar in association-based mentoring. This work has allowed us to think about how we can extend our approach to other job classifications and components of the research enterprise.
For example, we’re now meeting with Clinical Research Coordinator groups at several universities on a multi-year project where I’m serving in a consulting role. It’s challenging work that takes us beyond our usual NORDP initiatives, but it’s incredibly rewarding to see our mentoring model being adapted and implemented more broadly.
The challenge is always balancing the organic, relationship-based aspects of mentoring with the need for structured programs that can be scaled and measured. But that tension is also what makes mentoring work so interesting and impactful.
Q: What advice do you have for others within NORDP who wish to follow in your footsteps?
A: Just get involved. Just do something and say something. NORDP is an organization that is remarkably flat in its structure, as is the field of research development itself. That openness creates numerous opportunities for contribution.
I think that’s what makes our organization and association special—there’s a place for everyone. Having worked in more hierarchical environments where I was responsible for things like accreditation, I really appreciate the collaborative nature of NORDP.
Your experience might vary depending on your institutional context—working in the humanities will be different than in an engineering school—but the key is to find your niche and contribute from your unique perspective. Faculty involve research development professionals very differently from other people in the system, which gives us a special vantage point.
The beauty of NORDP is that you can bring your whole self to the organization. Whether you’re interested in mentoring, professional development, or other aspects of research development, there’s space for your voice and contributions. Don’t wait for an invitation—just jump in and get started.
Established in 2021, the NORDP Consultants Program is dedicated to expanding the national research ecosystem by providing research development services to minority-serving institutions and emerging research institutions (ERIs) to build research capacity. These engagements are supported by a cadre of peer-approved consultants and are always provided at no cost to the partnering institutions via the support of external sponsored funds.
With funding from the National Science Foundation (OIA-2331578), the NORDP Consultants Program is pleased to announce the partners joining Cohort IV. Each institution has recently expressed or renewed its commitment to strengthening its research activity and connecting scholarship to student learning and societal impact. They are:
California State University Bakersfield, a public Hispanic-Serving Institution in California;
City University of New York John Jay College, a public Hispanic-Serving Institution in New York;
Quinnipiac University, a private emerging research institution in Connecticut; and
Winston-Salem State University, a public Historically Black University in North Carolina.
In the cohort model of engagement, ERIs receive up to 600 hours of consultant support, an investment in their research infrastructure, and access to professional development and networking activities. Cohort IV will kick off their two-year intensive engagement in October 2025. The request for proposals for ERIs to join Cohort V will launch in January 2026. Interested ERIs and friends of the program can sign up for communications here.
The NORDP Consultants Program’s reach is expanding! With sponsorship from the Carnegie Corporation through the University Administrators Support Program (UASP) managed by The International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX), the NORDP Consultants Program is also pleased to serve as the virtual host for the 2025 UASP Fellows in Research Development. Six fellows from five universities across the African continent, Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia), University of Ghana (Ghana), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (Ghana), Obafemi Awolowo University (Nigeria), and University of Lagos (Nigeria), will join NORDP Consultant Program staff and experts from Emory University to explore various topics in research development in a multilateral exchange during several months in spring 2025.
Thank you to the more than 40 individuals who work and volunteer for the NORDP Consultants Program!
NORDP News 