In December 2024, the Camden Coalition celebrated the first cohort of graduates from our pilot Visibility, Opportunity, Inclusivity, Collaboration, Empowerment (VOICE) mentorship program, a six-month learning experience for staff members of color who aspire to leadership roles.

Professional coaching and mentorship opportunities are already less common in nonprofit workplaces than in other industries, and there are even more barriers for people of color and diverse professional backgrounds looking for an equitable opportunity to develop their professional skills in the workplace.

Victor Murray, the Camden Coalition’s Senior Director of Community Engagement & Capacity Building, conceptualized the VOICE mentorship program to meet an organizational goal of staff development and growth while addressing inequities in access to mentorship. The framework includes priorities to help mentees define workforce competencies, manage their performance, and complete annual reviews of their work.

The program, co-run by lead mentor Jessica E. Samuels, MS, MEd, ACC, of EvolveCareer, included an optional three-month continued mentorship with Jessica for those who completed the course. Our first cohort of VOICE graduates included:

• Kerona Sharpe, Program Manager of Community Connections

• Gladys Antelo-Allen, Associate Director of Education & Training

• Melissa Zambrana, Community Health Worker

Jessica explained that there was no “drop-off” or loss of commitment by any mentee prior to the end of the six-month period — unusual among most organizations’ mentorship programs. VOICE participants started by co-creating individual career acceleration plans with Jessica that they followed through 1:1 mentorship sessions and twice-monthly group meetings. At the wrap-up celebration, pilot program graduates presented their progress on professional skills development — from improving their executive communication to addressing their confidence in project management.

“Them sharing that with their peers brings a level of accountability that you don’t necessarily see in most mentoring programs,” Jessica said. “I’m thrilled that the [mentees] were open to being vulnerable and sharing some of their growth areas.”

Marisol Caban, Associate Director of Care Management Initiatives and a committee member behind the launch of VOICE, shared her distinct perspective as both a co-designer of the inclusive leadership course and a beneficiary of its results: she witnessed the tangible impact the mentorship had on her team member Melissa’s work as a throughout 2024.

“Overall, [Melissa’s] increased confidence to me is a direct result of the VOICE mentorship program,” Marisol said. “I believe VOICE can help to significantly promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within the workplace by supporting the development of underrepresented groups, such as our staff of color.”

Jessica credited the mentorship program’s multi-dimensional impact to Camden Coalition’s commitment to creating ongoing, practical growth opportunities for staff.

“I’m so proud of the Camden Coalition for not only recognizing the need to develop such a program, but to also have the lens around inclusivity and also around succession planning at the forefront,” she said.

Kim Verdecchio, Associate Director of Human Resources at the Camden Coalition, expressed her fortune to be part of an equitable organization where leadership prioritizes talent development.

“Our employees have become more resilient because of our continuous development opportunities,” Kim said. “The VOICE mentorship program is exemplary of our innovative approach to evolve our DEI opportunities to meet the needs of advancing our workforce.”

The VOICE committee plans to roll out a second cohort in 2025. Victor envisions this cohort will be larger in size, dependent on staff interest. Applications for the second VOICE mentorship cohort will open internally in January 2025.