2025 Mentorship Program Session 1 Recap

The Women in Cleantech and Sustainability (WCS) Mentorship Program officially launched its 9th cohort cycle following a successful kickoff event on January 30th, 2025. Founded in 2017, this program was created to better equip women professionals wanting to advance or transition their careers in the cleantech and sustainability sectors. In the years since it has continued to provide participants with the tools they need to find meaningful work and create lasting relationships during this three-month program.

Weeks prior to the first event, the program welcomed 84 mentors and mentees in their respective onboarding sessions. They received an overview of the program, reviewed their roles and responsibilities, and delved into a thoughtful discussion about women in the workplace.

Source: LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Company

This first session focused on the importance of mentorship and the need to be proactive during the time we will share over the next few months. This program was formed to empower women professionals, allowing them to share their experiences and skill sets and accelerate their career development. 

To emphasize these program values, WCS Board members were invited to share their responses to one of the following prompts about how mentorship has impacted their lives. This was followed by a lightning round highlighting the exceptional leadership within the WCS community.

• Reflection: What advice would you give your 20-year-old self, knowing what you know now?
• Connection:  What role did mentorship play in your career journey, and how did it shape where you are today?
• Forward Thinking: How can our mentorship program best align with the values and goals of this board or organization?
• Lightning Round:  If you could describe your leadership style in one word, what would it be?

WCS Board Member Ice Breaker Responses:

Nagashree Manwatkar – Entrepreneurship Committee Lead

When asked to describe how mentorship has shaped her into the individual she is today, Nagashree immediately praised the teachers and professors who curated a safe space for her curiosity to flourish and encouraged her to reach for her dreams no matter how far-fetched they seemed. As for her professional career, Nagashree mentioned how she was fortunate enough to have had managers in her early career stage who continued to motivate her. While she mostly spoke about the positive influences in her life, Nagashree highlighted how devastating the opposite is.

In the lightning round, she described herself as an empathetic leader. 

Trish Pinnella – Marketing Committee Co-Chair

In her response to the advice she would give to her 20-year-old self, Trish addressed the importance of looking for a mentor early. Given the turbulent nature of being an early career professional or transitioning well into your career, she acknowledged that people will be your most significant resource. That is why Trish advised program participants to build their network even beyond their roles and company. She stated that as you define your goals, check in with yourself and find mentors along the way to help you. From her personal experience, Trish came to understand the value of mentorship as time went on, especially mentorship between women.

In the lightning round, she described herself as a collaborative leader.

Julie Busch – Chairwoman of the Volunteer Committee

In Julie’s case, she emphasized the need to aim high and make every effort to achieve those goals. Julie recognized that there will be challenges and obstacles along the way but not to let those deter you from your path. She believes that in order to become a leader, you need to understand the intricacies of running an organization and managing a team of people. She asserted that networking and immersing yourself in different disciplines are the best ways to learn and grow in your professional career. 

During the lightning round, she described herself as an empowering leader.

Akanksha Mathur – Los Angeles Chapter Co-Chair

Akanksha offered a unique viewpoint with her journey from a 15-year career in the oil and gas sector to one in cleantech. She emphasized the importance of continually asking questions, regardless of how trivial or embarrassing they may feel. Akanksha highlighted the significance of finding allies from diverse backgrounds who will support you passionately and advocate on your behalf.

During the lightning round, she described herself as a hands-on leader. 

Guest Speaker Introduction:

Following the insights and tokens of knowledge from some of the WCS Board members, the session truly began with the introduction of guest speaker Janet Zavala. Janet is a seasoned professional with decades of technical and interpersonal experience at Southern California Edison. She is committed to leadership development and fostering an inclusive workplace. Over the years, Janet has empowered thousands of women professionally and personally and has had a multifaceted career.

Vision & Brand Blueprint

In conjunction with the onboarding session discussion about women in the workplace, Janet expressed how women professionals tend to minimize their efforts and reduce their sense of self-worth. With this session, she hoped to inspire participants to be intentional about taking action in their lives by increasing their confidence and clarity. 

“Vision Statement: A vision statement is a clear and inspiring declaration of what you aspire to achieve and become in the future. It serves as a guiding framework for your decisions, actions, and long-term goals.”

“Personal Brand: Your personal brand is the unique combination of skills, values, and experiences that define how you present yourself to the world and how others perceive you. It’s what makes you stand out and conveys your authentic story.”

Zavala stressed the importance of creating a clear vision statement that motivates you to take control of your professional journey and will allow you to stand out in a competitive landscape. She noted that we often hold onto resistance that hinders us when forming a personal brand. Examples of resistance may include feelings of self-doubt, imposter syndrome, fear of being seen, and refusal to prioritize or claim a part of your professional dreams. 

Defining Your Professional Vision: Clarify your career direction and future aspirations 

1st breakout session to discuss “What is Your Vision?”

Ask yourself: What do I want to achieve? What inspires me? What am I really good at?

Quotes from the 1st breakout session:

• Stephanie Hartsig (Mentee)
  • “(sometimes) our experience is so wide, and it’s difficult to know where we want to go. Narrowing down our goals and vision to something very specific (can help).”
  • “…interested in a lot of things but don’t have the focus I want, but it’s okay to build up the foundation now, and as you go on, your experiences will help guide you.”
  • “It was helpful to get validation that it’s okay to be a work in progress.”
• Claire Fraisl (Mentor)
  • “It’s important to me to feel connected with my work and feel comfortable with the environment.”
  • “Mentorship has been beneficial and fruitful for me” “…developing relationships and having faith that the time and effort will go far in the long run.”
• Janet (guest speaker)
  • “It (vision statement) should be ambitious, and it’s okay to let it scare you a little bit.”

Crafting Your Personal Brand: Take actionable steps to align your vision and your brand

Transitioning into the portion of the session about personal branding, Zavala provided a list of different professional archetypes to help guide the group in their brainstorming. These examples may align with one’s existing conditions, but recognize that a personal brand is a self-description that allows you to communicate your journey. The lesson here was to think through how to position and present yourself to others. It’s good practice to include the work you’re doing, details of what you’re passionate about, and topics/themes that resonate with you.

2nd breakout session – Pick three descriptive words or archetypes that represent your brand

How do you want to be perceived? How do you want to be remembered? What are you naturally good at? Discuss why they resonate with you.

Quotes from the 2nd breakout session:

• Cassidy Mayfield (Mentee)
  • “I think one of the main themes that I heard was our impact on people, in particular, building people up rather than tearing them down.”
  • “It’s about bringing people (up) with us and to have that support system.”
• Clementina Martinez-Masarweh (Mentor)
  • “I think it’s very important as you develop your personal brand to keep in mind how you make people feel. When you’ve left the room or when they’re at home, what’s the feeling that they get? You want to be remembered for having that human connection as opposed to a product.”
• Annette Poulimenos (Mentor)
  • “I shared with my group that for 2025, I want to be remembered as someone who is ‘Brave, Empathetic, and Resilient.’ I hope that inspires the women here (that) with everything going on, we’re going to keep fighting the good fight.” 

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