WIN launches pilot mentorship program

Women In Nutraceuticals (WIN) recently announced a mentorship program focused on soft skills, including critical thinking, creativity, effective communication, and empathy. WIN said its mentees are women who are passionate about the nutraceutical industry, comfortable with objective feedback and proactive learning, as well as committed to investing time in the relationship and professional development. Mentors are men or women who offer significant experience and stature, understanding of the nutraceutical industry, and a desire to collaborate on the mentee’s professional development goals.

“I am excited to help accelerate the number of females in C-lead roles through this initiative. This program will encourage our WIN mentees to be clear on what their goals are, and find mentors who help them gain clarity on what needs to be done to determine their path forward. They will have a cohort of women and mentors to have as accountability partners,” said May Yamada-Lifton, COO, Maypro, and co-chair of WIN’s Mentorship Committee. “As a sector, we will benefit from having future female leaders who will increase the voice and perspective of women in a sector where the consumer is often a woman.”

Yamada-Lifton explained the 6-month pilot program will start off small, with 10 mentors and 10 mentees, with a tailored approach that takes into account culture and capabilities.

“The short term [goal] is really building this camaraderie and teamwork of female leaders so that we can constantly bring in people to help us–that's men and women.”

The plan is to launch a full mentorship program to all senior-level WIN female members in early 2024, as well as a program to serve mid-level managers.

WIN members may now apply to be a mentor or mentee in the fall cohort of the WIN Mentorship pilot program. More information and a link to the application is available at womeninnutraceuticals.org​.