Workplaces: Developing A Culture Of Mentorship

To create lasting improvements in mentorship, it’s necessary for institutions to develop a culture that supports and values effective mentoring. This is applicable, not only for college and universities, but for STEMM workplaces. 

Astronaut and engineer Dr. Ellen Ochoa was the first Hispanic woman to go to space. When she first joined NASA, Dr. Ochoa discovered a culture that recognized the value of effective mentoring for everyone in the space shuttle program. In this episode, Dr. Ochoa shares her story of how this culture of mentorship impacted her career, what she did to develop formal mentoring programs in NASA, and how professionals can be guided further when workplaces value and implement effective mentoring practices and tools like compacts. 

Dr. Ellen Ochoa is a distinguished astronaut and research engineer. She earned her PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Dr. Ochoa was the first Hispanic woman to go to space and served as the director for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston from 2013 to her retirement in 2018. She has been inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame, the California Hall of Fame, and the International Air & Space Hall of Fame. She is also a member of the National Academy of Engineering. 

To learn more about the Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM report, and for a guide to implementing best practices at your institution, visit NAS.edu/mentoring. 

Brought to you by The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. 

Transcript