Become a Mentor

Are you willing to share your industry experience and hard-won wisdom with a woman on the way up? You can make a major contribution by becoming a mentor through WoWE’s popular mentoring program.

Having a mentor is an important success factor for career advancement and growth. In our new, fast-moving industry, it can be vital. The WoWE Mentoring Program fosters mentoring relationships by matching wind energy aspirants and newcomers with more established individuals.

Launched in 2008, the WoWE mentoring program is the first program geared specifically for women working in or entering the wind energy field.  What’s required from a mentor, more than years of experience or an executive title, is true willingness to spend time sharing your confidence, wisdom and observations.  Because the program is Web-based, mentor and mentee can get together regardless of location.

Find out more on our Mentoring Program FAQ page.


Why be a mentor?

WoWE mentors say they gain a powerful sense of professional and personal satisfaction from having helped a newcomer along, or guided a mid-level professional to reach higher goals. They enjoy the feeling of "giving back," especially if they have profited from a mentor's advice in the past. 

One participant has said, "Sometimes it just takes a 15 minute conversation or a thoughtful email to have an impact on someone's life."


Who can be a mentor?

WoWE participants often ask if they can be a mentor, having just entered the wind industry within the last few years. We welcome men and women with a variety of experience levels and backgrounds to participate as mentors. We recognize that the wind industry is rapidly growing, and even one year of experience can be tremendously valuable to mentees who are just starting out.  Also, given the expansive breadth of wind-related careers we welcome those from all sectors of the wind industry, including scientists, policy makers, engineers, government employees, project managers, wind developers, non-profit employees, lobbyists and advocates, educators, and attorneys just to name a few.  And a mentoring relationship can be a two-way street.  In this program, mentors have learned from mentees about new technology and websites available and some relationships have fostered collaborative professional endeavors.

Considering becoming a mentor? Great! Read the next section for a description of the expectations.


Mentor role and responsibilities

Mentors, like mentees, have varied backgrounds, but they have in common a positive attitude, good communication skills, willingness to commit time and energy to the mentoring process, as well as experience in some aspect of the wind industry.
Responsibilities of a mentor include:


How do I join?

Mentoring sessions begin twice a year. Registration for our current mentoring session is closed.  We plan to open another session in early 2011.  Look for announcements then on the WoWE Yahoo listserv, Facebook page, and webpage.

The first step to getting involved in the mentoring program is to let WoWE know you’re interested.  Please tell us more about yourself and check the “WoWE Mentor or Mentee” box on the WoWE join form.  We’ll be in touch soon with further information, including the expected start date of the next session. 

For more information about WoWE's Mentoring program, please contact the WoWE Mentoring Program Coordinator at mentoring@womenofwindenergy.org.


Think you or someone you know might like to be a mentee?  Find our more on our Find a Mentor page.