Take a Mentor Minute with Zena Lum: April 2026
By: Zena Lum, WOC National Advisory Committee Member and Mentorship Expert
Take a Mentor Minute with Zena Lum is a monthly advice column where Zena imparts expertise to empower mentors and deepen their relationships with their mentees.
A warm welcome to the official 2026 Check-in Chicas and Mentor Match cohorts! I’ve had the pleasure of e-introducing myself to my cadre of mentees and have already begun sessions that kick-off the new program year.
One tip that I offer is to move forward and schedule all 6 sessions for the program year now. It’s just one hour, every other month. For example, I have mentee meetings scheduled for the 2nd and 3rd Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays of each month through next year. As life will have it, there were unexpected family events that disrupted plans that I had just set in place, necessitating rescheduling some of my first sessions. However, knowing that I had these on the calendar kept me accountable to my mentees and we’ve been able to accommodate new appointments.
Also, please stay tuned for a Mentor/Coach Virtual Open House to take place in June. By then, you should have met at least once with your mentees and accountability partners. If you have questions, want to share stories, or have a particular challenge that you think could benefit from the broader community of Mentors and Check-in Chicas, I hope you’ll join us as we strengthen WOC’s commitment to lift-up and guide peers and aspiring leaders in philanthropy.
Zena Lum
WOC National Advisory Committee Member and Mentorship Expert
