It all began with the OnEdMentors podcast — the longest running live show on voicEd Radio created to mentor preservice and new teachers. Today, vibrant and informative weekly discussions take place among passionate educators addressing questions, exploring perspectives and learning from each other.

In an effort to make mentorship more accessible to teachers at any stage of their career, Noa Daniel went to Leigh Cassell of Digital Human Library to help broaden the reach and impact of OnEdMentors by exploring how mentorship could be a primary source of professional learning and change for educators. They wondered how they could create a space where teachers could go when they wanted to learn and grow on their own terms and on their own time. Building on the name OnEdMentors, the vision for OnEdMentors Connect (OEMConnect) was formed in January 2018.

After engaging a small team of mentors and critical friends, Noa and Leigh launched a collaborative inquiry into the impact of a 1:1 self-directed mentorship experience on professional learning and student achievement. Through a progressive phased approach in the months that followed, our community continued to grow and evolve into the thriving community of mentorship available to educational professionals today.

Building on the success of OEMConnect, Noa and Leigh began imagining a space to house a variety of services that focus on mentorship for educational professionals. It wasn’t long before they were playing with names for this new space (one of Noa’s favourite things to do), like The Complimentary. What resonated most with the founders was the latter half the word Complementory because it sounded like the blending of mentor and mentee. Naming the organization The Mentoree would say everything they wanted it to.

The name represents a reciprocal, non-hierarchical mentorship community that blurs the lines between mentor and mentee. The Mentoree would focus on mentorship as a primary source of professional learning for educators at any stage in their career. We all have something to teach, and we all have something to learn.

Today, The Mentoree is run by a leadership team led by Noa, and it has become an even more collaborative community. We’ve extended our offerings beyond but including 1:1 Mentorship. What began as a small group of educators exploring mentorship has evolved into a thriving community of educators dedicated to learning from and with one another.

The success of The Mentoree would not have been possible without The Mentoree Leadership Team and the Mentors and Mentees who are actively engaged in the community, making it a more supportive and inspiring place for everyone.

We all have something to teach, and we all have something to learn.

Join Us!

– Noa Daniel, Christine Chin, and Teri Rubinoff

The Mentoree Leadership Team