Presenter: Ashley Johnson, Field and Volunteer Support Senior Manager at FIRST

In 2023, FIRST finalized a new strategic plan focused on four key strategies to promote the growth and expansion of FIRST. Recruiting and retaining mentors was identified as a key barrier to growth. Join this session to hear a high-level overview of a new mentor focused effort – the Mentor Development Initiative (MDI) – a multi-year, multi-phase project intended to create new systems, resources, training, value, and development for current and prospective FIRST mentors. The MDI seeks to remove barriers to mentoring and make mentoring more attractive by providing greater resources and guidance to new and prospective mentors while demonstrating the value mentors receive from their participation. We believe the deliverables of this initiative will increase the numbers of new mentors participating in FIRST and thereby increase the number of teams and youth participants. The MDI will also address mentor burnout and help retain more mentors and increase the quality of adult mentorship thereby benefiting youth participants. Participants will be able to hear about the vision for the Mentor Development Initiative as well as proposed phases and deliverables. The session will include initial feedback previously gathered from other groups on the Mentor Development Initiative. Most of the session will be spent listening to what the attendees think a mentor development program should include and receiving feedback on how we can increase the “reward” for mentoring and decrease the “investment.” There will also be time to ask questions about the Mentor Development Initiative. If all that wasn’t enough reason to attend the session there will be special swag given to the attendees who lend their valuable time and experience to this session.

About Ashley

Ashley Johnson is an experienced leader and non-profit manager with over 12 years of experience in the FIRST Volunteer Resources Department. With an unwavering commitment to empowering and supporting volunteers, Ashley is currently the Senior Manager of Field and Volunteer Support at FIRST. Ashley is leading the new Mentor Development Initiative. Over the past decade with FIRST HQ, she led the FIRST Senior Mentor Program, the VISTA Program, and the more recent AmeriCorps Program as well as other key volunteer initiatives. With 20+ years of experience working in non-profits and volunteer management, Ashley draws upon her extensive background to drive strategies focused on enhancing the FIRST volunteer experience and growing FIRST. Before FIRST, she worked in leadership roles for various non-profit organizations to include Special Olympics New Hampshire and the American Cancer Society. Originally from Austin, Texas, she now resides in New Hampshire with her husband Tom, 5-year-old son Austin, and chocolate labrador pup Buddy. When she is not working with FIRST, she is an active volunteer in her community spending time with youth-serving programs and can be found most weekends either running or at sporting event with her family.