About Womentorship

Research shows that nearly every successful woman will say that she benefited from mentorship while navigating the labyrinth of her career. Thanks to Betty-Ann Heggie’s generous financial support and donated time, the Womentorship program helps women find personal and professional fulfillment while helping companies keep women actively engaged in their organizations.

The Womentorship program partners Proteges - U of S alumni of all ages and stages - with Womentors who have 15+ years of professional experience. The mentoring relationship grows over personal meetings and networking and professional development seminars throughout the year.

Built on the pillars of Presence, Belonging and Resilience identified in the McKinsey study Centered Leadership: How Talented Women Thrive, the Womentorship program aims to create an environment where women support each other and grow together.

• If you are a professional with 15+ years of experience who is ready to share your experience to enrich the career, life and network of others, become a Womentor!
• If you are a professional who is seeking the mentorship and guidance of other women, become a Protégé!

Program Benefits

Womentorship Benefits include:

• Participating with a group of diverse, passionate and knowledgeable professionals from a diverse list of industries
• Personalized matching of Proteges and Womentors
• Flexible, one-to-one coaching/mentoring sessions between each Womentor and Protege
• Eight professional networking and developmental seminars and events
• Minimal time commitment reaping maximum reward

Program Overview

• Calendar of Events

  Dates are tentative and may change slightly. Dates will be confirmed by August 31, 2018.

  All event

  Date	Time	Event
  TBD	8:30 - 11:30 am	Kickoff and Introduction to the Program (Mandatory Attendance)
  TBD	5:00 - 8:00 pm	Alumni Event
  TBD	8:30 - 12:30 pm (lunch included)	Presence: Professional Development Seminar 1
  TBD	8:30 - 12:00 pm	Myers Briggs Type Indicator: Womentorship 'Extra' Seminar
  TBD	8:30 - 12:30 pm (lunch included)	Belonging: Professional Development Session 2
  TBD	7:00 - 9:00 pm	LUNAFEST International Film Festival
  TBD	8:30 - 12:30 pm  (lunch included)	TBD
  TBD	8:30 - 12:30 pm  (lunch included)	Resilience and Closing Workshop

• Session Information

  Kickoff and Introduction to the Program	Meet your fellow Proteges and Womentors and kick off the year with an introduction to the program with founder Betty-Ann Heggie
  Alumni Event	Network with past and present participants of the Womentorship program and enjoy a presentation given by an author.
  Presence: Professional Development Seminar 1	The first professional development seminar based on the pillars of the program.
  Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: Womentorship 'Extra' Seminar	Learn more about yourself, your personality type, and your leadership potential with a Myers-Brigger Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment. Session includes completing an MBTI assessment to find your own personality type.
  Belonging: Professional Development Seminar 2	A seminar based on the second pillar of the Womentorship program.
  LUNAFEST International Film Festival	Join us for a short film festival in celebration of International Women’s Day, held at the Broadway Theatre.
  Topic TBD
  Resilience and Closing Workshop	A speaker presents on the last pillar and closes the year of Womentorship.

• Past Speakers

  The Betty-Ann Heggie Womentorship Program has many distinguished speakers that have come to speak about their experiences.  Some of our speakers include:

  • Rachelle Brockman (Principal, Eureka Experience)
  • Amy Carroll (Communication Coach, Trainer and Speaker, Carroll Communication Coaching)
  • Delee Fromm (Delee Fromm Consulting)
  • Caitlin Frost (Coach and Facilitator)
  • Kellie Garrett (CEO, Kellie Garrett Enterprises)
  • Betty-Ann Heggie (Former PotashCorp Senior VP; Co-founder of Womentorship Program)
  • Diane Jones-Konihowski (Olympic Gold Medalist; Company Ambassador, Premier Executive Suites)
  • Janet Kestin (C0-founder, SWIM; Author, Darling, You Can't Do Both)
  • Heather Kuttai (Motivational Speaker)
  • Veronique Larlham (Communications Specialist, AREVA)
  • Penney Murphy (Penney Murphy and Associates)
  • Lauryn Oats (Projects Director, Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan)
  • Vera Pezer (Chancellor Emerita, University of Saskatchewan)
  • Rita Priestley (Management Consultant, Organizational Renewal, Strategic HR Management)
  • Marcia Reynolds (Author, The Discomfort Zone: How Leaders Turn Difficult Conversations into Breakthroughs)
  • Barb Stegemann (CEO of The 7 Virtues Beauty, Inc.)
  • Alice Wheaton (Top Line Turnaround Expert)
  • Sakena Yacoobi (Founder and Executive Director, Afghan Institute of Learning)

How to Join

The Betty-Ann Heggie Womentorship program runs once a year. If you are interested in participating in the 2020/2021 program year, please contact us.

• Proteges

  Protege Application Form

  Space in the program is limited. Only 25 Proteges are accepted into the program each year, so apply early! You will be notified with who you have been matched. Attendance is mandatory at the Kickoff Event as this will be the first time you meet your Womentor. Please ensure you are available on this date. 

  Proteges must be University of Saskatchewan or Executive Education alumni. Not a U of S alumna? Please contact us for more information on how you can qualify to take the program.

  Given the importance of face-to-face interaction in the Mentorship Program, preference will be given to those living in Saskatoon and area. 

  Past participants are invited and welcome to participate in the professional development sessions at a cost of $100/session. Please send us an email to womentorship@edwards.usask.ca to let us know you are interested in this opportunity.

  Tuition

  Annual Protege tuition fee is $750 + GST.

  Protege Scholarships are Available!

  Not-For-Profit Organizations

  Sponsored memberships are available for Proteges currently employed in the not-for-profit sector with a registered charity. If you wish to be considered for one of the sponsored memberships, please submit a letter of interest with your completed application form to womentorship@edwards.usask.ca. Your letter of interest must indicate how your experience and professional development within the Womentorship Program will benefit both yourself and your organization.

  Applying without organizational funding?

  Sponsored seats for the program are available for participants who is applying without organizational funding. If you wish to be considered for this spot, please submit a letter of interest with your completed application form to womentorship@edwards.usask.ca. Your letter of interest should indicate how you will benefit from the experience and professional development within the Womentorship Program. 

  Additional $200 scholarships are available for applicants applying without organizational funding. Please contact us at womentorship@edwards.usask.ca for more information. 

• Womentors

  Womentor Application Form

  Application Process

  After all applications are received, each application will be reviewed individually as part of the matching process. Once a match is finalized, we will notify you. Our goal is to find a well-suited match for everyone accepted into the Program and, unfortunately, an appropriate match may not be available for everyone who applies. Edwards will contact you to confirm whether you have been matched with a Protege. Attendance is mandatory at the Kickoff Event on as this will be the first time you meet your Protege. Please ensure you are available on this date. 

  For the success of this program, it is important that you commit the time and make yourself readily available to attend the majority of our workshops, and that Protégés initiate contact with their Womentor.

  Given the importance of face-to-face interaction in the Mentorship Program, preference will be given to those living in Saskatoon and area.

  Tuition

  There is no tuition cost for Womentors who contribute their time and expertise to mentor others.

Testimonials

Hear what our proteges and mentors have to say first-hand:

• Silvia Martini - Interlink Research

  "The transition through insight is a profound transformation to behold in a protégé. This journey between discerned need/goal setting and toward actualization is one that must be driven by a wiliness to be vulnerable; to observe and reflect as one moves toward meaningful and sustainable changes. Supported within a trusting mentorship relationship, the opportunity for exploration deepens and successful outcomes are more likely.

  The journey of discovery and growth I have shared with my protégés in the Betty-Ann Heggie Womentorship Program have been immensely reward, and a privilege to support. The excellent matching of strengths and personality type to needs, the information workshops and staff support by the Edwards School of Business provide opportunities for the mentors and protégés to learn together, and toward deeper discussions and reflections.

  It is truly a great pleasure to be part of this valuable program, and to support other women in their journey."

  Silvia Martini
  Vice-President
  Interlink Research
• Nancy E. Hopkins - McDougall Gauley LLP

  "As a mentor, I have found the Womentorship program rewarding on many fronts.  I have been paired with a wonderful protégé - a smart, caring, capable young woman facing the same issues and challenges that I faced early in my career.  I have met other amazing women - mentors and protégés alike - through the Womentorship events.  And I have learned a great deal from those events, from my protégé, and from the other women in this program.  It has made me a better mentor in my other mentoring relationships.  The Womentorship program is truly a worthwhile endeavour."

  Nancy E. Hopkins, Q.C., (Hon) C.A.
  McDougall Gauley LLP

• Jan Gitlin - CTV

  "Regarding my year as a mentor, I found it most enjoyable meeting other Mentors and young bright women in our city.  I do appreciate that this is the first of hopefully many years of the Womentorship program and changes will be ongoing.  It has been an honor to be a Mentor and I hope to continue trying to be of some help to my current mentee for many years to come.” 

  Jan Gitlin
  Account Executive
  CTV

• JoeAnne Hardy - WBM Office Systems

  "The Womentorship Program has provided a unique opportunity for me to connect with some amazing professionals that have truly enriched my life.  I learned many things about the value of mentorship and I’ve enjoyed getting to know my protégé over the last year.  Based on this experience, I know I will be a life time mentor –through formal programs like this, but also informally.”

  JoeAnne Hardy
  President
  WBM Office Systems

• Veronique Larlham - AREVA Resources Canada Inc.

  "I joined the Betty-Ann Heggie Womentorship Program thinking that it would be interesting to mentor a young woman starting out in the business world, after this first year it is very humbling for me to recognize that I also learnt a lot from the experience…about myself, young people’s thought processes and business in general. Womentorship does as much for the mentor as it does for the mentee – it’s a perfect business win-win situation!"

  Véronique Larlham
  Communications Specialist
  AREVA Resources Canada Inc. 

• Andrea Hansen - Sutton Financial Group

  "Through Womentorship, I was able to connect with a group of amazing and talented women who had a shared purpose to grow and learn.   I was delighted to be matched with my mentor and it was a connection I may not have made otherwise and one that I will always be grateful for.   The professional development sessions were great and I can't wait to be part of the program next year!"

  Andrea Hansen, GBA, CFP, B.Comm.
  Business Advisor
  Sutton Financial Group

• Catherine Gryba - City of Saskatoon

  "I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the Betty Ann Heggie Womentorship Program through the Edwards School of Business.  This program has been wonderful and thoroughly enjoyable.  I have met so many incredible women and it's hard to tell who are the mentors and who are the protégées.  My protégées and I get together every 6 weeks or so and I really enjoy the company of these young women.  They are intelligent, hard working and very committed to improving themselves.  It has been a great motivator for me.  I have learned a great deal about them and myself, and I am thankful to be part of this program.  Thank you for the opportunity and the experience."

  Catherine Gryba
  Manager, Strategic Planning
  City of Saskatoon

• Meredith A. Moore - Moore Chamberlin and Associates

  "As a mentor and participant in the Womentorship learning events, I have greatly enjoyed meeting the upcoming generation of women leaders.  Their enthusiasm, verve, and intelligence is a delight.  Seeing them ‘on the move' brings me more hope for our future." 

  Meredith A. Moore
  Partner
  Moore Chamberlin and Associates

• Jos Herman - Financial Management Advisor

  "I am encouraged to see such a wonderful group of women participate in the Womentorship Program. We carry on in our day to day lives and do not realize the many powerful women that are in Saskatoon and the impact they can make.  There were learnings and laughter!"

  Jos Herman, BComm, CA, CFP
  Financial Management Advisor