iMentor Blog

Friday, October 29^th.  It seemed like just another ordinary day at the iMentor office- Program Coordinators were leading sessions at partner sites, iMentor Interactive team members were training and supporting members across the globe, and the Development team was preparing to send iMentor’s quarterly e-Newsletter to all of its members. All was well.

But truly, that was no ordinary day. There was a stir in the air. People were carrying strange containers up to the tenth floor.  Program Coordinators were seen cutting cloth and large sheets of construction paper.  Scott Daughtridge disappeared into the elevator well with a large pumpkin.

What was going on?

A transformation was about to take place.  The iMentor staff were preparing for the organizations’ 3^rd Annual iMentor Halloween Showdown and Bakeoff! Once a year, just before Halloween, iMentor staff members compete against one another in a costume competition that gets bigger and better every year.  Additionally, they baked treats and scary concoctions to compete in the annual Halloween bakeoff.

This year’s bakeoff winner was Civic Corp member and Volunteer Coordinator, Amanda Neel, who baked a frighteningly realistic-looking batch of kitty litter cake.

The showdown itself started with a parade. All of the contestants presented their costumes to a panel of judges comprised of past winners: 2009 champions, Dana Saxon and Unique Fraser reprised their roles as Mili Vanili, and our first ever champion, Sandra Henry, returned in her winning Erykah Badu costume from 2008.

The competition was fierce. The Development team collaborated with Talent and iMentor Interactive to put on a skit based on the popular sitcom “Glee”, complete with musical number. The totally outrageous program team dressed up as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Civic Corp members Nicole Rothwell and Amanda Neel were salt and pepper. This seasoned pair, assisted by hype man and fellow Civic Corp member Mike Brennan, spiced things up with a performance set to hip-hop duo Salt ‘N Peppa.

The winners for each category were announced:

• For “Most Economical” there was a tie between the Salt and Pepper Civic Corp members and Program Coordinator Elise Ogden for her tornando costume.
  
• The “Most Creative” award went to the Development/Talent/iMi for their "Glee" collaboration.
• “Most Accurate” went to the Program Team for their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costumes. 

But who would win best overall? After much battling, shell spinning and break dancing from iMentor Interactives’ Kevin Trip, the title of 2010 iMentor Halloween Showdown Champions would go to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Also known as Victoria Lowe, Elizabeth Kennedy, Paul Nehring, Lisa LoFaso and Alexander “Master Splinter” James.

With the competition over and plenty of kitty litter left in the box, some iMentor staff called it a night while others went in search of festivities.  But no one would forget the bond created that night. Even though they are hardworking, nonprofit professionals, the iMentor team always makes time to create an atmosphere that promotes enjoyment and creativity.

Want to join the fun?  iMentor is hiring!

iMentor already has an impressive staff roster, and we’re thrilled to welcome four extraordinary new Partnership Managers to our iMentor Interactive team.   iMentor Interactive empowers member organizations to create high-quality, high-impact mentoring programs throughout the country based on our successful NYC model.   Partnership Managers ensure that organizations who have signed on to use iMentor’s mentoring best practices and technology tools in their own programs are able to deliver high impact mentoring programs with measurable results.  iMentor is growing rapidly and the expansion of this team gives us the bandwidth to reach our ambitious goals. 

If you’ve ever wondered what kinds of professionals are driving our successful programs, this is your chance to meet a few!

Tara Goderez is excited to bring her expertise in education, technology and digital literacy to support iMentor Interactive member organizations in the creation of successful mentoring programs.  Tara taught special education as a New York City Teaching Fellow before joining Per Scholas as a Program Manager for Comp2Kids, where she implemented programs to connect students and families to digital literacy training and improve access to technology.  Tara also brings international experience from her time in Peru, supporting a women’s textile cooperative and running after school programming for children. 

Nadia Khan brings ten years of experience in the education sector, and is thrilled to continue working to bridge the achievement gap by sharing her expertise with iMi member organizations.   At Kids Creative, Nadia was responsible for cultivating a talented staff to operate successful youth programming that fosters confidence, creativity, conflict resolution and a sense of community.  At the NYC Department of Education, she was responsible for providing coaching and development to 115 school-based Parent Coordinators, while acting as a liaison between superintendents, school administrators and families as they worked together to achieve successful outcomes for students. 

Talya Oberfield is excited to bring her experience in youth development, community engagement and partnership building to her work with iMentor Interactive.  At Building Impact, Talya cultivated strategic partnerships between non-profit and for-profit companies, leading program design and implementation to increase volunteer and donation resources for local organizations while breaking down barriers to civic engagement.  At Citizen Schools, Talya was a team leader for middle school students in Mattapan, taught early college awareness workshops and recruited and trained volunteers.  She has also spent significant time working abroad, as an apprentice on an Organic Farm and Education Center in Israel.

Hanh Tran is passionate about the potential of uniting organizations across sectors to achieve social impact. She believes that all youth have the potential to succeed if given adequate opportunity and support and is thrilled to contribute to iMentor’s efforts to expand the mentoring movement.  She brings experience in communications, consulting, community outreach and non-profit program management from the Morgan Stanley Foundation and New York Cares.  She has also supported women entrepreneurs through her work with refugees in Tanzania with WomenCraft and as a Kiva Fellow in Vietnam.

We couldn’t be more thrilled to have these four stars joining our iMentor Interactive team! 

Do you think that you might fit in well with our dynamic staff, or know someone who would?   iMentor is currently hiring fun, hard-working individuals who are passionate about closing the achievement gap through mentoring.  Check out our current job listings and tell a friend!

iMentor’s CEO, Mike O’Brien, was recently invited by the Huffington Post to be a regular blogger.  In his first post, he discusses the spotlight cast on the education reform movement by the documentary, “Waiting for ‘Superman,’” and how volunteerism can be the means to convert post-movie enthusiasm into a long-term commitment to change.

And this is how we can carry Superman's torch. By keeping the personal connection to the issue that makes the film so effective, by focusing on the lives behind the numbers, and by getting thousands of additional citizens working directly with students and schools in communities all across the country. 

'Superman' started the conversation. Let's act now, take one next step to lock in our commitment before the feeling fades.

Mike O'Brien

Read, comment on, and become a fan of Mike O’Brien’s full blog post.

School has started, matching has begun, but we still need 150 MORE men to become mentors.

Join over the thousands professionals in New York City who mentor iMentor teens from underserved communities. Not only will you have fun, but you’ll change a young person’s life.

You will not have to do it alone – most of the mentoring happens in groups and over email. You’ll be assigned an iMentor staff member to help you along the way.

The first step is to fill out an online application. The next step is to attend a mentor training session.