Jessica says that the most important thing she learned from her mentor is that hard work pays off. Karina successfully ran for Sacramento City Council while they were paired up – so Jessica was inspired by her perseverance in that effort. She also said, “I really love the networking part of the program and the virtual trainings that were scheduled throughout the year!”
-2022 Mentee Jessica Rocha, Legislative Assistant in the California State Assembly

Mentor: Karina Talamantes, Sacramento City Council Elect 

“I am eternally grateful to She Shares for bringing Nicole and I together. As a First Generation attorney, law school graduate, and college graduate, having a mentor to just share their experiences is essential to our own personal journey in navigating the professional world while still having a personal life. Nicole is that mentor, ally, and friend that makes our lives special. I appreciate Nicole's mentorship and just her honesty with the challenges women face. Nicole is an example of how women are resilient and make it work. I can completely relate and appreciate our honest conversations. When I first joined She Shares, I thought it would just be career advice, but Nicole went above and beyond and answered my questions regarding balance, or the attempt to balance professional life, personal life, and family life....all while still paying it forward and paving the way for the next generation.”

-2022 Mentee Kendra Rivas, Deputy Attorney General in the Attorney General’s Honors Program – Civil Division

Mentor: Nicole Soluri, CEO of Professional Businesswomen of California

"With the encouragement of my manager, I applied to be a 2021 She Shares mentee and was matched with a wonderful and knowledgeable mentor with years of experience in the health care industry. Over the last year, this mentoring relationship has proved invaluable both personally and professionally. Having a dedicated mentor to whom I can bring questions and problems helped me grow in my role at Aurrera Health and build my identity as a young professional. Recurring virtual or in-person meetings each month gave us structure and the opportunity to discuss everything from navigating the many players in the health care industry, to effectively managing a team, to staying motivated while working during the pandemic, to the importance of balancing career goals with other priorities. Participating in this program and developing a relationship with my mentor has allowed me to stay connected to my Sacramento community – something I was yearning for when I decided to take a leap of faith and move away from my home state."

-Madison Rasmussen, Account Executive, Strategic Communications, Aurrera HealthGroup 

Mentor: Natalie Cardenas, Regional Director of Government Relations & Public Affairs, UCB, Inc.

"I entered this industry as a young college student with no friends or family working in legislation. Before SheShares, I often felt that my resources were limited.

In the SheShares program, I was assigned Katie Hansen as my mentor. Katie and I talk on the phone roughly once every other week to discuss my goals and how I am working on achieving them. If I ever had a question that Katie did not know the answer to, she was always willing to learn with me. Katie and I would talk about my immediate goals, future goals, day to day workload, and my developing skillset. I am thankful to have someone trustworthy like Katie to guide me through developing a career in legislation. Katie is a Legislative Director for the California Restaurant Association, so her advice is valuable to me as a legislative aide. I would like to thank the people who put this program together because they have given me a lifelong mentor, advocate, and friend."

-Lindsay McLaggan, Legislative Aide, California State Assembly 

Mentor: Katie Hansen, Senior Legislative Director, California Restaurant Association

“I feel very fortunate to have been chosen as a participant in the Mentoring Future Leaders program. She Shares provides young women a helping hand transitioning into the professional world. It has given me a networking experience that I wouldn't have gotten with any other program, and has also created a friendship with my mentor, Matina Kolokotronis. What she has accomplished is impressive, but more than anything it’s motivating. I have gained a respect for Matina, the women I have heard speak during the luncheons, and also the one’s I've met. These leaders are influencing me every day to continue to work hard, to jump at different opportunities, and to do the best I can with what I have. I hope that one day I can be a mentor to a special young woman, and give her the opportunity for a brighter future.”

– Amanda Marinac, UC Davis

Mentor: Matina Kolokotronis, president of business operations for the Sacramento Kings. 

"Before coming to the She Shares Workshop I was not sure which career field I was most interested in. So by attending the workshop I hoped that one of the speakers would somehow convince me that their career was best for me. Once I attended the workshop it was totally different from what I expected. Instead, I learned and obtained valuable advice given from guest speakers and used it to my advantage, such as having self-confidence and good communication skills. This was such an amazing workshop and I hope it can reach out to more women throughout all ages and classes because there was a lot of great advice that could potentially change someone's life and/or career path. This experience was valuable to me because I never had a mentor or someone who shared their success story with me, so I am very pleased I attended this workshop and connected with such influential women. Something that I will never forget from this workshop is 'networking'. Networking is so important and I am gradually learning how to network with people on LinkedIn and other social networks. I had such an amazing time at the workshop and hope this kind of opportunity is presented in the future. "

– Panhoia Lee

"I applied for a marketing position a few days prior to the She Shares workshop, and to my surprise, I met the hiring manager at the event. The connection I made during this training allowed me to personally connect with a strong woman of power, apply new networking skills I learned during the workshop, highlight my skills as an individual and ask questions about the specific position. Now I am proud to say I work with an amazing team and continue to learn something new on a daily basis as a marketing coordinator. The She Shares event was my 'hard work meets opportunity' moment! I'm thankful that I was not only about to connect with this individual but also network with other working women from around the Sacramento region."

- Sheenal Kumar