Engage in Mentoring

Welcome! The ASLA Mentorship Program is a unique online networking and career development tool that connects ASLA students with professional members who match their interests.

This program is self-guided, with mentors and mentees working together to determine the goals and timeframe of the relationship. Your mentor or mentee can be in the same city or on the other side of the world. You can apply to the ASLA Mentorship Program in four simple steps:

Step 1: Complete Your Profile

Complete your profile. Make sure your contact information is up to date, add a recent professional profile picture, expand on your bio and import your education and job history information from LinkedIn. Having a complete and accurate profile is crucial to the success of selection and matching.

Step 2: Enroll

Are you looking to be a mentor or mentee? Perhaps both? Sign up:

• Enroll as an ASLA Mentorship Mentor
• Enroll as an ASLA Mentorship Mentee

Set your preferences, which can include: practice type, practice area, region, gender, ethnicity, and start/end date of mentor/mentee relationship.

Please note that some fields are required for enrollment. The more information you provide, the easier it will be to make the best match.

Step 3: Search

Use the ASLA Mentorship Program Directory to search for mentors or mentees. Start by selecting:

• Practice Areas
• Practice Types
• Region
• Ethnicity
• Gender

Take advantage of features that help you find and recruit matches:

• Track your mentoring relationships
• Participate in discussion forums on mentoring topics
• Search for helpful mentoring resources

On the Mentor Program Directory: if you're unsure of what you are searching for, select "Search for ALL of the selected values."

Step 4: Connect with a Mentor/Mentee

Once you have completed your search, select the name of the mentor that you are interested in establishing a mentor/mentee connection with. The link will bring you to their profile page. If you think it's a good match, look under their profile image for the Invite Me to be A Mentor/Mentee link, which when clicked will allow you to request a connection.

Step 5: Review the Mentorship Guidelines and Expectations

The goal of the 2020 ASLA Mentorship Program is to foster a relationship between students/emerging professionals and seasoned professionals that allows both parties to increase their understanding of the many facets of landscape architecture, especially while navigating the impacts on the profession during the pandemic. To maintain the best relationship, both the mentor and mentee should understand their roles and follow the mentorship guidelines.

Congratulations! Let the mentoring begin.

For more information, view our Mentorship Match FAQs.

MENTEE

Enroll as a Mentee

Find a Mentor

Mentee Guidelines

Your Mentoring Relationships

MENTOR

Testimonials from our mentors and mentees:

“I am so thankful for the opportunity to give back to the profession through mentoring, especially when our emerging professionals are facing unprecedented challenges during the pandemic. One hour a month is all it takes!” - Jean Senechal Biggs, ASLA, Mentor

“The ASLA Mentorship Program has been my favorite part of my ASLA student membership. It is incredibly grounding to talk with someone who has been through design school but also has years of real-world experience. She has helped me through the various stages of job applications, from reviewing my portfolio to discussing the hiring process.” - Dylan Anslow, Student ASLA, Mentee

“I have been forever changed because of this program. My mentees Kiki Cooper, Stephanie Onwenu and Angelina Cabrera have been fantastic. We have shared education and business experiences as well as personal stories that have shaped our lives. Most importantly we are learning from each other and that is beautiful. The future is bright and I am delighted to mentor such unbelievable individuals.” - Kona Gray, FASLA, PLA, Mentor

“I have gained a sense of belonging to the landscape architecture field that I didn't really have before joining this program. The world feels a little bit smaller and more welcoming now that I know it is made up of people who want to help me succeed and grow in this disciplinary.” - Autumn M. McNinch, Student ASLA, Mentee

"ASLA's Mentorship Program has provided me with plenty of confidence, support, a developing sense of direction, and a perfect mentor match. I would not be confidently heading towards this form of inner success in my career alone. The ASLA Mentorship Program is full of potential personal benefits waiting to be discovered—but you, as a student, have to be the one to reveal them for yourself." Marcus Benoff, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2022, Mentee

Photo credit: EPNAC 2019.