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To delve deeper into the declining recruitment problem, one of the panels, “Mentor Recruitment - What’s It Going to Take?” will explore current trends and challenges in mentor recruitment, and what it takes to effectively engage and sustain volunteers. This important panel will be hosted by Brenda Jimenez, and will feature speakers Joie Golomb, Director of Programs & Partnership Development for MENTOR New York; Gary Bagley, Executive Coach, Educator, Strategist, and the former CEO of New York Cares; and Claudia Espinosa, creator of the Latinas On the Verge of Excellence - L.O.V.E. Mentoring Program, which supports and empowers young Latinas and all young women to strive for excellence and achieve their dreams.

Closing out the conference will be the voices of Solar One’s Youth Advisory Council (the YAC) which will speak about the creation, management, and benefits of building their youth board.

“Young people are not only the beneficiaries of mentoring but also the agents of change and innovation, and so it’s important they also have a say in the development of mentoring programs,” said Linda Armyn, Board Member, MENTOR New York and Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer, Bethpage Federal Credit Union. “We are very pleased to help showcase their talents and learn from their experiences.”

The conference will once again be generously sponsored by Bethpage Federal Credit Union, PSEG Long Island, and the McKoy Group with community support from their partners at Adelphi University and Niagara University’s Rose Bente Lee Ostapenko Center for Race, Equity, and Mission.

“At PSEG Long Island, mentorship is key to developing the next generation of leaders that is as diverse as the communities we serve,” said Andrea Elder-Howell, PSEG Long Island’s Vice President of Legal and Secretary of MENTOR New York’s Board of Directors. “We know young people need additional networks of support now more than ever before. It’s going to be important for those of us with experience to step up and offer a helping hand which is why PSEG Long Island is proud to support MENTOR New York and the Mentoring Matters Conference as they provide professional development to the leaders who create and sustain quality mentoring opportunities for young New Yorkers.”

“The McKoy Group, LLC believes in the power of young people and is proud to sponsor the Youth Panel at MENTOR New York’s virtual conference where young people from Solar One’s Youth Advisory Council will take the mic to share how adults can make space for their voices to be heard,” said Vaughn L. McKoy, founder of the McKoy Group, LLC.

About MENTOR New York

For over 25 years, MENTOR New York has leveraged its expertise in relationship development and program management to advise and train its partners about how to start, manage, and improve quality youth-facing programs. MENTOR New York’s mission is to fuel the quality and quantity of mentoring relationships for young people and close the mentoring gap in New York. Today, MENTOR NY conducts approximately 100 separate training seminars each year and trains approximately 1,500 new mentors annually. https://www.mentornewyork.org https://www.mentornewyork.org/virtual-conference

The organization creates approximately 75 new programs each year and supports a portfolio of 1,300 mentoring and youth-serving organizations impacting estimated 100,000 young people across New York State.