Vermont Mentoring Symposium
The Vermont Mentoring Symposium is an annual conference of learning and networking with mentoring professionals throughout the state. The symposium offers virtual workshops followed by a convening in Waterbury, Vermont for a full day of engaging speakers and interactive workshops. Each year, the symposium focuses on a theme to amplify the areas of need and support in the mentoring field. The 2025 symposium theme is Charting the Course: Navigating Mentoring in Shifting Times; last year, we anchored ourselves in the why. This year, we will now figure out where we are going and how we do so in an ever-changing climate, both nationally and locally.
About this Event
The Annual Vermont Mentoring Symposium provides a dynamic forum for mentoring professionals, program leaders, and local legislators to co-create the future of mentoring for their programs, organizations, and for the statewide mentoring movement at large.
Each year, the symposium focuses on a specific theme that centers the work the mentoring field is striving toward at large. Attendees hear from local experts, MENTOR Vermont speakers, and youth leaders throughout the state.
The symposium highlights best and innovative practices in the field, addresses emerging challenges, and explores how to authentically amplify youth voice.
What to Expect
- Dynamic Keynote
- Two Engaging Morning Workshops
- Theme-Focused Afternoon Plenary
- Afternoon Youth Presentation
- Vermont Mentoring Awards
- Two half-days of virtual workshops and group community conversations
Virtual Sessions
October 22, 2025
New Coordinator Welcome Coffee Hour, 9:30 – 10:00 AM
Led by Sarah DeBouter (MENTOR VT’s Training & Support Director), this session will be an opportunity for coordinators who are new to their position to meet each other and have questions answered, leading into the Symposium. Experienced coordinators are welcome to attend to meet new members of the mentoring field and help answer questions. Grab your coffee or tea, and come meet your peers!
Vermont School District Reform: What Programs Need to Know with Kim Gleason, 10:00 – 10:50 AM
Vermont’s Act 73 has launched a statewide effort to consolidate school districts, aiming to reduce costs and respond to declining enrollment. Kim Gleason, a member of the School District Redistricting Task Force, will share insights on the reform process and its potential impacts and answer questions from programs.
Virtual Focus Groups: Shaping the Future of Mentoring in Vermont, 11:00 – 11:50 AM
Join the Program Leadership Council and Vermont Mentoring DEI Committee for small-group conversations to share your program’s experiences, challenges, and needs. Your input will help MENTOR Vermont better understand where programs are now and how we can best support you in the years ahead.
October 23, 2025
Relationship-Centered Communities in Practice, 1:00 – 1:50 PM
Join this interactive discussion to explore what works—and what doesn’t—in building relationship-centered communities. How do we foster a mentoring mindset? Participants will share experiences, strategies, and challenges in creating supportive networks and partnerships that help young people thrive socially, emotionally, and academically.
Virtual Focus Groups: Shaping the Future of Mentoring in Vermont, 2:00 – 2:50 PM
Join the Program Leadership Council and Vermont Mentoring DEI Committee for small-group conversations to share your program’s experiences, challenges, and needs. Your input will help MENTOR Vermont better understand where programs are now and how we can best support you in the years ahead.
Strengthening Vermont’s Mentoring Movement: Introducing the New Partnership Model, 3:00 – 3:50 PM
MENTOR Vermont’s new Partnership Model is designed to strengthen collaboration, center quality, and expand access to meaningful mentoring relationships statewide. This session will introduce the two levels of engagement—Partner and Certified Partner—highlighting the benefits, requirements, and resources available at each. Participants will learn how the model supports data-driven advocacy, program capacity, and alignment with national best practices through the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™. By joining the Partnership, programs commit to building equity-driven, youth-centered mentoring opportunities that raise the quality and impact of mentoring across Vermont.
In-Person Program
October 24, 2025 in Waterbury, VT
Keynote: The Meaning of Mentorship and Community: Light in the Darkness by Addie Lentzner
Discover the life-changing power of mentorship through a moving keynote that blends music, storytelling, and personal experience. This talk shines a light on how mentors help young people find hope, purpose, and a path forward.
Peer Consulting Workshop: Truth-Telling and Leadership in Mentoring
Join fellow mentoring professionals from across Vermont for a peer consulting workshop facilitated by MENTOR Vermont. Together, we’ll explore three cohorts of guiding questions—naming personal and collective truths, honoring the moments and mentors that shape us, and envisioning what becomes possible when truth is spoken and acted upon. Through collaborative reflection and dialogue, participants will strengthen their leadership, deepen community connections, and uncover new possibilities for the mentoring field.
Sustaining Ourselves, Strengthening Each Other with Tony Moulton
In this interactive workshop, we will acknowledge the challenges facing immigrant and mentoring communities, along with the impact on so many of our marginalized populations. Together, we will:
- Explore how to sustain ourselves and care for our own well-being while doing this work.
- Consider how we rely on and support one another as a community of practice.
- Share practical tools, resources, and strategies for continuing to serve youth and families with strength and compassion.
This session will blend tangible techniques with collective wisdom from the group, offering both practical takeaways and space for renewal.
Catered Lunch and Mentoring Field Recognition Awards
Afternoon Plenary: Navigating this moment as an opportunity: Relationships and community building as resistance with Sarah Henshaw
In a time when identities, voices, and communities face increasing restrictions, how do we resist isolation and instead lean into connection? This plenary explores the power of relationships and intentional collaboration as acts of resistance and resilience. Through reflection, small group dialogue, and collective discussion, participants will explore strategies for community building, allyship, and sustaining strength in challenging times.
Youth-Led Workshop: Reengaging Boys and Men Through Mentorship
Boys and young men are facing rising disconnection, from struggles in school to loneliness and mental health challenges. At the same time, it’s tough to recruit men to mentor and hard to convince boys that having a mentor isn’t “lame.” In this youth-led workshop, male mentoring pairs will share real stories about the impact of mentorship and explore how to make it more inviting, relevant, and powerful for the current and next generation.
