Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Logo
Menu
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Organizational Charts
    • Strategic Vision 2025
  • Our People
    • A-Z People
    • Alumni Network
    • Area Offices
    • Committees
    • Directors
    • IDEA Working Group
    • Paul A. Witherspoon
    • Postdocs & Early Careers
    • Search by Expertise
  • Careers & Opportunities
    • Careers
    • Intern Pilot w/CSUEB
    • Mentorship Program
    • Recognition & Funding Opps
    • EESA Mini Grants
    • Student Opportunities
    • Supervisor EnRichment (SupER) Program
  • Research
    • Our Divisions
    • Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division
      • Environmental & Biological Systems Science
        • Programs
        • Environmental Remediation & Water Resources
        • Ecosystems Biology Program
        • Bioenergy
      • Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions
        • Programs
        • Climate Modeling
        • Atmospheric System Research
        • Terrestrial Ecosystem Science
      • Climate & Atmosphere Processes
        • Programs
        • Climate Modeling
        • Atmospheric System Research
      • Earth Systems & Society
        • Programs
        • Climate Modeling
    • Energy Geosciences Division
      • Discovery Geosciences
        • Programs
        • Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Geophysics
        • Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Geochemistry
        • Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Isotope
      • Energy Resources
        • Programs
        • Geologic Carbon Sequestration
        • Hydrocarbon Resources
        • Geothermal Systems
        • Nuclear Energy & Waste
      • Resilient Energy, Water & Infrastructure
        • Programs
        • Water-Energy
        • Critical Infrastructure
        • Environmental Resilience
        • Grid-Scale Subsurface Energy Storage
    • Projects
    • Publication Lists
    • Centers and Resources
    • Technologies & National User Programs
  • Departments
    • Climate Sciences
    • Ecology
    • Geochemistry
    • Geophysics
    • Hydrogeology
    • Operations
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
  • Intranet
  • Safety
  • Search

  • all
  • people
  • events
  • posts
  • pages
  • projects
  • publications

EESA Mentoring Program Underway

by Christina Procopiou on January 25, 2018

Announcements Climate Sciences Department Ecology Department Environmental Remediation & Water Resources Program Events Geochemistry Department Geophysics Department Hydrogeology Department In The Press Research Highlight

Bill Collins, division director, CESD; Romy Chakraborty, Ecology Department Head; and Ali Douraghy, Strategic Initiatives and Business Development lead discuss how to create a culture that fosters career development

The EESA Mentoring Pilot Program for FY2018 kicked off with two training sessions on January 11 for individuals grouped in pairs of 43 mentors and mentees from our Area who will meet over the next nine months. Mentors learned effective mentoring skills in a morning training with breakout sessions. Mentees gathered in an afternoon training to learn what they can expect from their mentoring relationship. Geri Richmond, presidential chair in Science and professor of Chemistry at the University of Oregon, gave a presentation focused on helping mentoring program participants establish a strong foundation on which to build their relationships. Richmond has held numerous leadership positions within the national and international scientific communities and is known as a strong advocate for the advancement of early-career scientists.

Tracy Bigelow, senior Human Resources division partner for the Earth and Environmental Sciences Area at Berkeley Lab, believes that the mentoring pilot program will help develop future leaders for the Area and enable the effective transfer of knowledge and expertise between senior and junior staff. “Feedback from employee surveys consistently shows that staff – whether their focus is science, technical, or administrative work – want a) more opportunities to develop skills and knowledge and b) more guidance on career development. The mentoring pilot program was designed to help meet these employee needs.”

Having a mentor to help guide a mentee in developing their career differs from the supervisor-employee relationship that is focused on job performance and working for the benefit of the organization, rather than for the benefit of an individual’s personal career development.

The EESA mentoring pilot program will be offered every other year. Registration took place during October, and participants in a mentoring committee helped match mentors and mentees before the Lab’s holiday shutdown in December. Bigelow considers the program to be of benefit to mentors and mentees alike. “Mentors are given opportunities to build leadership skills and to gain an understanding of the needs or perspectives of early-career staff.” She notes many benefits to mentees; one of the most significant is how having a mentor to help guide a mentee in developing their career differs from the supervisor-employee relationship that is focused on job performance and working for the benefit of the organization, rather than for the benefit of an individual’s personal career development.

“Mentors are given opportunities to build leadership skills and to gain an understanding of the needs or perspectives of early-career staff.”

During the training sessions, mentees seemed excited by this opportunity to have attention focused on their careers rather than on the work or projects at hand. Mentors showed enthusiasm for the opportunity mentoring gives them to get to know someone new and to empower them to develop. Richmond’s presentation encouraged the mentors to engage in active, reflective listening when meeting with their mentees. She also discussed the importance of avoiding the temptation to try to solve problems for one’s mentee, stressing that mentees are given more opportunities for growth when empowered to come up with their own solutions to challenges.

 

 

News & Events

Carl Steefel Named 2019 American Geophysical Union Fellow

August 14, 2019

  Carl Steefel, a senior scientist in the Earth & Environmental Sciences Area at Berkeley Lab, has been named by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) as a 2019 AGU Fellow. Every year, the AGU Fellows program recognizes members who have made exceptional contributions to the Earth and Space sciences. Vetted by a committee of AGU Fellows,…

Climate Change Expected to Shift Location of East Asian Monsoons

November 25, 2019

Berkeley Lab climate scientists studied how the Hadley cell, a tropical air flow closely linked to monsoons, will change as the climate warms. (Credit: iStockphoto) More than a billion people in Asia depend on seasonal monsoons for their water needs. The Asian monsoon is closely linked to a planetary-scale tropical air flow which, according to a…

Charlie Koven Named One of 2019’s Most Influential Researchers

November 23, 2019

For the second consecutive year, Charlie Koven, a staff scientist in the Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, has been named among the world’s most cited research scientists. Since 2002, the Highly Cited Researchers list has identified global research scientists and social scientists who have demonstrated exceptional influence – reflected through their publication of multiple papers…

EGD Hosts Symposium on Coupled Processes in Radioactive Waste Disposal and Subsurface Engineering Applications

On November 4-5, 2019, the Environmental Geosciences Division co-hosted the DECOVALEX 2019 Symposium on “Coupled Processes in Radioactive Waste Disposal and Subsurface Engineering Applications” in Brugg, Switzerland. Coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical (THMC) processes in geological systems are critically important to the performance and safety assessment of geologic disposal systems for radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. Understanding…

Romy Chakraborty and Boris Faybishenko Honored with 2019 Directors’ Awards

Two EESA scientists were honored with Berkeley Lab Director’s Awards at a ceremony on November 15 in Building 50. Romy Chakraborty, Ecology Department head, and EESA Staff Scientist Boris Faybishenko, are among 15 individuals who received this year’s awards from Lab Director Mike Witherell. The Director’s Awards program recognizes Lab employees each year for exemplary…

  • Our People
    • Area Offices
    • Committees
    • Directors
    • Organizational Charts
    • Postdocs
    • Staff Only
    • Search by Expertise
  • Departments
    • Climate Sciences
    • Ecology
    • Geochemistry
    • Geophysics
    • Hydrogeology
  • Research
    • Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division
    • Energy Geosciences Division
    • Program Domains
      • Programs
    • Projects
  • Contact
    • 510 486 6455
    • [email protected]
    • Our Identity

Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo DOE Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo UC

A U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory Managed by the University of California

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory · Earth and Environmental Sciences Area · Privacy & Security Notice