ERG Council: Pride in Mentorship
Name:
ERG Council: Pride in Mentorship
Date:
October 8, 2025
Time:
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM EDT
Registration:
Register Now
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Event Description:
Through candid conversations and real-world examples, panelists will delve into the unique challenges and triumphs of navigating careers and education as LGBTQIA+ individuals. They will illuminate how mentorship can foster a sense of belonging, provide crucial support in overcoming obstacles, and empower individuals to achieve their full potential. Pride in Mentorship will provide attendees with practical tools and strategies for cultivating meaningful mentoring relationships that promote authenticity, allyship, and advocacy within the LGBTQIA+ community.
Moderator:
Madeline Rife joined College Now in August 2014 as the Mentoring Program Manager with a background in youth and education. In her role as Senior Director, Madeline oversees all aspects of the College Now Mentoring Program, which currently serves over 1,700 mentor/mentee pairs. From 2010 to 2012, Madeline served in the United States Peace Corps in Ukraine, teaching English as a Second Language and working as a youth development professional. Upon her return to the United States, she became the Global Youth Programs Officer at the Cleveland Council on World Affairs where, for 18 months, she managed a Model United Nations program for over 1,000 local students, as well as long- and short-term youth exchange programs with young people from Iraq, Kosovo, and Mexico. Madeline served as a mentor in a formal program during her undergraduate years and many times informally during her teaching career in Ukraine and is today a mentor for Esperanza, Inc and the Cleveland Clinic; she understands first-hand mentoring’s challenges and rewards. She attended Georgetown University School of Foreign Service where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service in 2009.
Panelists:
Andrew Waterson launched csr strategies in 2020 and leads client engagements to support positive ESG impacts. His work includes helping organizations understand “what matters most”, strategy development, reporting and program management. Blue csr strategies in 2020, Andrew held leadership positions in both public and private sector organizations including GOJO Industries, KeyBank, BrownFlynn (now an ERM Company) and the City of Cleveland, OH. His responsibilities included sustainability, corporate responsibility, communications, diversity & inclusion, and community & governmental affairs.
Jehlani White is a 3-year board member and the Interim Program Director at Colors+ Youth Center, a mentor at College Now Greater Cleveland, a Program & Community Impact Manager at Chosen Collective, and community ambassador at Haus of Transcendent. A Posse and Point Foundation Scholar, he earned a Sociology degree from Oberlin College in 2019, receiving the Norm Robertson LGBT Activism award. He taught ESL in rural China and obtained a Master's in Public Health with a concentration in social and behavioral sciences and certificate of LGBTQ+ Health from Kent State University in December 2024, where he helped conduct a Greater Cleveland LGBTQ+ Community Needs Assessment. He is grateful to be able to learn and be among community across different sector as a 2022 Foundation for Philanthropy fellow and now 2025 Adolescents Health Advocates fellow.
