GROW Mentorship Program

SCDRP is a regional collaboration network for professionals in emergency management, resilience, and disaster preparedness, response, and recovery specifically focused on the U.S. Southeast and Caribbean region. SCDRP serves as a trusted network to build professional skills, facilitate knowledge-exchange, advance equitable climate adaptation approaches, promote strategies for accelerating natural disaster recovery, and facilitate strong and diverse partnerships across professional sectors.

RCE Greater Atlanta brings together universities and colleges from across the Greater Atlanta region with nonprofit, community, government, and business partners. RCE Greater Atlanta was acknowledged by the United Nations University on December 18, 2017, as a Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development. The designation makes Atlanta one of over 190 RCEs worldwide. RCEs support multi stakeholder implementation of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals at the regional level through education and training.

Both SCDRP and RCE Greater Atlanta consist of an extensive and diverse regional network of professionals who work across multiple disciplines and sectors with the common goal of advancing climate adaptation, resilience, and sustainable development. Mentors will have the opportunity to use their experience and expertise to support resilience professionals who are earlier in their careers. Mentees will receive the invaluable opportunity to learn from and connect personally with experienced high-level professionals in their field.

Mentees may be students, early-career professionals, mid-career professionals, or anyone who would like to learn from someone with experience and expertise in their field. Mentors are experienced professionals with strong backgrounds in resiliency, emergency management, sustainability, or another climate-related field who work or have worked in the public sector, private sector, nonprofits, or academia. Mentors should have at least 5 years of professional experience within a relevant field. SCDRP Membership is required for the program. In lieu of paying membership dues, Mentorship Program participants have the option to complete 4 volunteer hours in support of the Mentorship Program (which can be completed up to three months after the program’s completion). Volunteer tasks can be completed virtually and do not require any specialized experience. Examples of volunteer tasks may include helping develop program graphics and content, participating in a focus group to provide feedback on the program, signing up to facilitate a virtual mentee meetup, or volunteering at the SCDRP Annual Meeting. Email scdrp@secoora.org with questions.

Those interested in participating in the mentorship program (as a Mentor or a Mentee) fill out an Interest Survey detailing their field of interest and areas of expertise, desired mentor/mentee characteristics, and other important information to help us make the best matches possible. After the Survey has closed, program staff will reach out confirming your interest in participating.

The GROW Mentorship Program will run from October 2025 - March 2026. Mentor/Mentee pairs are expected to meet (virtually, or in-person if possible) at least 4 times for one hour each and 1 hour of training (total of 5 hours). Mentors and Mentees may choose to continue to meet beyond the program timeframe if desired. Mentors and mentees will be required to sign a contract indicating their commitment to participating in four mentorship sessions together between October 2025 and March 2026.

A committee comprised of SCDRP and RCE Greater Atlanta staff and partners will pair Mentors/Mentees using a rubric that takes into account the following: field of interest/expertise, professional background, geographic location, and preferred Mentor/Mentee characteristics. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to match you with a Mentor/Mentee that meets all of your desired characteristics, but we will take all requests into consideration.

Before beginning mentorship sessions, all Mentors and Mentees will attend one hour of virtual training to review mentorship expectations, best practices, and culturally aware mentoring. Participants will also be provided with supplemental materials and resources to support their mentorship experience.

Mentors and Mentees may meet in whatever format works best for both parties: Zoom or other virtual meeting, phone call, or in-person. Mentors/Mentees have the flexibility to discuss any topics related to professional development or career growth in sessions, but we will provide an outline of suggested topics and review materials for each session. Mentors/Mentees will schedule mentorship sessions on their own, with program staff available to step in and support as needed.

Virtual SDG Workshops will be offered to GROW Mentorship Program participants. Workshops will be led by Iesha Baldwin, Sustainability Leader at Spelman College and RCE Mentorship alumna, and will introduce participants to the fundamentals of sustainable development. Participants will explore the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), examining how they address global challenges across five key dimensions: People, Prosperity, Peace, Partnership, and Planet. Attendees will also learn how applying these concepts can strengthen their leadership and make them more competitive in their future careers.

Yes! If both the Mentor and Mentee agree that they would like to continue mentorship sessions beyond the official program duration, they may continue to meet as desired. If mutually acceptable, we also encourage micro-engagements (quick conversations to check-in or ask questions).