At She Shares, we believe strongly in nurturing the next generation of women leaders. That is why She Shares is also a mentoring and networking opportunity for young women. She Shares highly values our mentorship program as a way to cultivate successful and meaningful professional experiences for the next generation.

This year long mentorship program pairs young women with professional Sacramento women at the top of their careers. Or, if you are not located in Sacramento, we do have virtual pairings, so you can be located anywhere.

Throughout the year, pairs meet at each She Shares event and arrange for additional in person networking opportunities like lunches, attending conferences together, or asking for help with reviewing your resume. In 2020, we started virtual workshops which has provided more opportunities for professional development workshops for our mentees and mentors. We have continued these virtual workshops even though our main events are back to being in person. Topics include Zoom etiquette, taking the next step in your career, how to negotiate your salary at a new job, and networking 101. It is not required to attend all of these events, but we ask that you do your best to attend as many as you can and are relevant to you!

Mentees and mentors can arrange their meet ups as they are comfortable with. Most will do Zoom or coffee meetings to get to know each other and go from there.

Read testimonials from previous mentees and mentors here!

Applications are avaliable in December of each year for the following year. Contact Tamara at tt@tamaratorlakson.com. 

Mentorship Program FAQs

What are the qualifications for a mentor?
Mentors are women that are further along in their career, approximately 7+ years of experience, although it does not have to be at the same job that whole time. They should be able to offer mentorship and advice to women just starting out in their career and be able to meet virtually or in person at least five times during the year with their pair.

What are the qualifications for a mentee?
Mentees are women that are newer in their career, usually just starting out, approximately in the first 5 or so years of their career. Although if there has been a major career change or a delay in starting the work force due to life circumstances, we still welcome you to apply and explain that! We ask that our mentees be graduated from college – but they can be enrolled in law school, business school or similar programs.   

Is there an age requirement?
There is no age requirement, but usually our mentees end up being in their 20’s and our mentors are in their 30’s on up to their 60’s. If you had a late start to your career and worry you are “too old” for the program, reach out anyways and we can see if you are a good fit!

Is there a fee to participate?
No, the program is completely free to participants! In fact, when we get back to having our in person events, all mentors and mentees will be able to attend complimentary as part of our program. Tickets to our event usually sell for $65 per person.

How does the matching process work?
We will typically match you with someone in a similar career field – or in the career field you are interested in that you described on your resume. For example, we once paired a law school student with a local Judge! If there is a particular type of career that you would like to be paired with, please let us know on the application. For example, if you are currently working for a legislator, but you would really like to become a lobbyist, we can try to pair you with a lobbyist.

Do you have to be located in Sacramento in order to participate?
You do not! The only disadvantage to not being in Sacramento is it would be harder to attend in-person events, but you would still be welcome! We host practical workshops on Zoom throughout the year as well. 

How often do you have to engage with your mentor/mentee pair?
We encourage each pair to work out what works best for them, but we do suggest that you meet (whether that is virtually or in person) at least five times throughout the year. This can be Zoom meetings, socially distant coffee/walks, meeting about your resume, making a connection for a job interview, practicing interview skills with each other, starting a book club and more! You will really get out of it what you put into it!

How long is the program?
You will officially be in the program for the entire calendar year. But after the program, many of our pairs stay in touch and continue their relationship for years! You will also be on our mailing list moving forward so you can join our events in the future. We always offer our alumna mentees a discount for our in person events too!

2023 Mentorship Class

Alicia Priego, Strategies 360, paired with Sakshi Walia, California State Senate.

Arielle Julie, Pinterest, paired with Veronica Johnson, Public Health Institute's Center for Health Leadership and Practice (PHI CHLI).

Caitlin McShane, EMC Communications, paired with Emily Sackett, Unearth Campaigns.

Carla Saporta, CVS Health, paired with Jessica Matlock, California State Senate. 

Catalina Sanchez, Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency, paired with Fabiola Moreno, Fellow California State Assembly.

Catherine Stadler Borg, Southern California Edison, paired with Brooke Pritchard, California State Senate.

Chantel Johnson, Gender Equity Policy Institute, paired with KaBria A. Payden, California State Assembly.

Christina Lokke, Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), paired with Cayley Chan, Fellow California State Senate.

Claire Conlon, California State Assembly, paired with Jackie Wu, J. Wu Consulting.

Colleen Spitz, Bicker, Castillo, Fairbanks & Spitz (BCFS) Public Affairs, paired with Lauren Burke, Lucas Public Affairs.

Connie Delgado, Delgado Government Affairs, paired with Clarissa Dominguez, Fellow California State Assembly.

Connie Emerson, Sanders Emerson Consulting, paired with Marcella Bertolino, California State Assembly

Crystal Young, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, paired with Kimberly Jackson, Project Optimism.

Cyndia Chung, Kaiser Permanente, paired with Mariela Frias, Fellow, California State Assembly.

Darcy Totten, California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, paired with Lizzie Cootsona, California State Senate.

Deanna Johnston, Organon, paired with Ellon Madill, Full Moon Strategies.

Debbie Manning, Retired Chief Sergeant at Arms, paired with Maiya De La Rosa, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte.

Diana Crofts-Pelayo, CalOES, paired with Jia Wan-Connelly, California Seismic Safety Commission.

Elizabeth Tunquist, Professional BusinessWomen of California (PBWC), paired with Gianna Arcolino, Lucas Public Affairs.

Ellen Cesaretti-Monroy, California State Assembly, paired with Blair Huxman, Fellow California State Assembly.

Elise Gyore, California State Assembly, paired with Aurora Schunemann, Fellow California State Senate.

Erin Baum, UCOP, paired with Sana Jaffery, Fellow California State Assembly.

Gretel Tortolani, California Chamber of Commerce, paired with Esmeralda Espinoza, MBA Student.

Heidi W. Steinecker, Ernst & Young, paired with Farnaz Bi, UC Davis Health.

Jalene Coe, California State Senate, paired with Jennifer Oliveros Reyes, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

Jeannette Carpenter, Brownstein Hyatt Farber & Schreck, LLP., paired with Beatriz Hernandez, California Immigrant Policy Center.

Jen Tracy, LaMont Digital, paired with Marissa Lee, Unearth Campaigns.

Jennifer Fearing, Fearless Advocacy, paired with Maria Unzueta, Street Level Strategy.

Jennifer Troia, California Department of Social Services, paired with Emily Hinton, California Department of Social Services.

Jessica Ng, Clear, paired with Sophia Quach, California State Assembly.

Jessica Pearson, Delta Stewardship Council, paired with Laura Walsh, Surfrider Foundation.

Karen Zamarripa, Karen Zamarripa Consulting, paired with Valerie Rodriguez, The Campaign for College Opportunity. 

Katie Hansen, California Restaurant Association, paired with Chloe Alexandria Shin, Fellow California State Senate.

Kari Ida, Sacramento Kings, paired with Yvonne Vasquez, Fiona Hutton & Associates.

Karina Talamantes, City of Sacramento, paired with Chloe Steck, California Immigrant Policy Center.

Keetha Mills, Foundation for California Community Colleges, paired with Alexis Takagi, Learnfully, Inc.

Kelly Boyd, Equinor, paired with Amara Eger, Environmental and Energy Consulting.

Kim Stone, Stone Advocacy, paired with Karen Avila, Sacramento Superior Court.

Kimberly Coley, American Red Cross, paired with Katherine Landeros, Sacramento Children's Home.

Kristina Bas Hamilton, KBH Advocacy, paired with Abigail Alvarez, Everyday Impact Consulting.

Kristy Wiese, Capitol Advocacy LLC, paired with Caila Pedroncelli, California State Senate.

Krystal Moreno, California State Senate, paired with Andrea Amavisca, California Immigrant Policy Center.

Kyla Aquino Irving, Sierra Donor Services, paired with Krystal Raynes, Fellow California State Assembly.

Laura González, Unearth Campaigns, paired with Katherine Lynch, Lucas Public Affairs.

Lauren Babb, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, paired with Alchemy Graham, Shaw Yoder Antwih Schmelzer & Lange, Inc.

Lauren Greenwood, GO-Biz, paired with Shruti Adusumilli, Comcast.

Libby Hall, Unearth Campaigns, paired with Julie Ziegler, Tipalti.

Lindsay Gullahorn, Capitol Advocacy, paired with Daniela Garcia-Hernandez, Fellow California State Senate.

Lindsey Nitta, California Women Lead, paired with Amaya Childes, Fellow California State Senate.

Margaret Gladstein, Capitol Advocacy, paired with Donna Cullinan, findhelp.

Martha Alvarez, Los Angeles Unified School District, paired with Paloma Elizalde, California State Senate.

Mareva Brown, California State Senate, paired with Catherine Charles, California State Assembly.

Mary Meuel, California State University, paired with Shoshana Levy, California State Senate.

Megan Lane, California State Assembly, paired with Alice Montes, SEIU-UHW. 

Megan Smith, Smith Creative Co., paired with Chelsea Jimenez, Lucas Public Affairs.

Melanie Cuevas, California Bankers Association, paired with Megan Mekelburg, California State Senate.

Melissa Cosio, Alliance for Safety and Justice, paired with Isabella Valdez Martinez, Fellow California State Senate. 

Monica Hernández, California Department of Housing & Community Development, paired with Katherine Squire, Fellow California State Senate.

Nicole Soluri, Professional BusinessWomen of California (PBWC), paired with Dixie Tauber, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

Rachael O'Brien, California Department of Food and Ag, paired with Hayley Fernandes, Fellow California State Senate.

Rachel Linn Gish, Health Access California, paired with Crystal Horn, Fellow California State Senate.

Rebecca Nicholas, Fiona Hutton & Associates, paired with Sarah Barry, Edelman.

Shashwati Roy, Gainwell Technologies, paired with Farhana Naz Amin, Abbott.

Sumaya Nahar, Political Solutions, paired with Kristal Padilla, Fellow California State Senate.

Susan Wheeler, SMUD, paired with Suzanne Bardasz, Caltrans.

Tiffani Harter, CalPERS, paired with Rachel Alderette, Capitol Impact.

Tiffany K. Martin, TKMartin Consulting LLC, paired with Carmen Ross, Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

Past Mentorship Workshops from 2021