Training Catalog

Askable Adults Matter

Every young person deserves at least one adult they can count on. This training gives you simple, real-world ways to talk about tough topics—like safety, bodies, and healthy relationships—without awkwardness or judgment. You’ll gain confidence discussing sexual and reproductive health and making youth-friendly referrals. You’ll leave ready to be the trusted, informed adult young people actually turn to. 

Audience: Mentoring professionals, mentors, youth counselors, educators and anyone working with youth ages 11–19 

Becoming a Better Mentor: Strategies to Be There for Young People

Great mentoring is about showing up the right way. This session mixes real-world advice with evidence-based practices so you can build trust, handle challenges, and support youth on their own terms. You’ll come away with everyday skills and straightforward approaches to make mentoring relationships stronger and more rewarding for both of you. 

Audience: Mentoring professionals, mentors, youth counselors, educators and anyone working with youth

Building Social & Emotional Skills Through Mentoring

Want to help kids grow the skills that set them up for life? This hands-on training breaks down social and emotional learning (SEL) into what it really is, why it matters, and how it drives success in school, work, and beyond. You’ll leave with simple activities and easy ways to weave SEL into every moment with youth. 

Audience: Mentoring professionals, mentors, youth counselors, educators and anyone working with youth 

Combatting White Saviorism

Good intentions aren’t enough. This session breaks down what white saviorism looks like in mentoring, why it’s harmful, and how to stop it. You’ll leave ready to spot it and take action to build mentoring relationships that are equitable and empowering for youth. 

Audience: Mentoring professionals, mentors, youth counselors, educators and anyone working with youth

Connect Focus Grow

Strong workplace relationships don’t just happen—they’re built. Connect Focus Grow is an interactive, activity-based training that helps supervisors and young professionals adopt a mentoring mindset to boost morale and retention. You’ll learn how to deepen connections, check your biases, expand your support network, communicate better, and set clear career goals—all while lifting your team culture. 

Audience: Supervisors, managers, team leads, HR professionals, and young professionals

Critical Mentoring Approaches

Critical mentoring flips traditional mentoring on its head. It pushes back on deficit-based thinking, saviorism, and one-sided power dynamics, and instead centers youth voice, culture, and values. You’ll learn to build genuine partnerships with young people and their communities, honor many forms of expertise, and create mentoring spaces that truly validate and empower. 

Audience: Mentoring professionals, mentors, youth counselors, educators and anyone working with youth

The Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring 5th Edition

High-quality mentoring doesn’t happen by chance—it’s built on proven practices. This training walks you through the brand-new 5th Edition of the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring, reflecting the latest research and innovations in the field. Whether you’re launching a new program or refining an existing one, you’ll gain tools, insights, and actionable steps to create mentoring relationships that last and make a real impact.

Audience: Mentoring professionals at any stage looking to strengthen or refine their programs

E-Mentoring

Bring mentoring into the digital age. E-mentoring makes it simple for mentors and mentees to connect when it works best for them. It helps young people build social skills, get academic or career support, and form strong relationships without meeting face-to-face. You’ll learn how to use technology safely in your program to make mentoring more accessible and impactful. 

Audience: Mentoring and youth-serving programs ready to implement or strengthen e-mentoring

Group Mentoring

Group mentoring flips the usual one-on-one model into small groups that surround young people with support. It’s a dynamic way to boost connection, learning, and collective impact all at once. Participants will learn how group mentoring creates a 360-degree approach to helping youth thrive and strengthens community connections.

Audience: Mentoring professionals, mentors, youth counselors, educators and anyone working with youth

Mentoring Mindset

Every adult has the potential to make a difference in the lives of young people. This training empowers anyone who interacts with young people—parents, teachers, coaches, librarians, crossing guards, and more —develop a mentoring mindset to help youth feel known, recognized, and supported. You’ll learn what it means to be a mentor in a nontraditional way and how to turn everyday connections into lasting impact. 

Audience: Everday mentors, mentoring professionals, mentors, youth counselors, educators and anyone working with youth 

Peer-to-Peer Support for Young People

Young people can be some of the strongest supports for each other. This training gives youth the tools and confidence to effectively support their peers while advancing your organization’s goals. As part of MENTOR Nebraska’s Youth Voice strategy, it puts young people in the driver’s seat as leaders and co-creators in their community. Participants leave ready to amplify youth voices, influence systems, and live out the principle of “Nothing About Us, Without Us.”

Audience: Youth ambassadors, youth advisory board/councils, peer and near-peer mentors, youth leaders, young people aged 14-24

Recruiting Diverse Mentors & Volunteers

Mentoring programs thrive when their mentors reflect the youth they serve. This session shakes up the old “post a flyer” approach and shows you how to genuinely connect and build relationships with diverse communities. You’ll pick up practical tips to broaden your reach and bring in mentors with all kinds of lived experiences.

Audience: Mentoring programs, schools, and any organization that supports youth

Risk Management & Child Safety

Keeping kids safe is more than a background check—it’s an ongoing commitment. This training shows you how to spot red flags, plan ahead, and respond to crises with confidence. You’ll learn how mentoring fits into wider child-safety efforts and leave with practical ideas, resources, and a clear plan to keep young people safe. 

Audience: Mentoring programs, schools, and any organization that supports youth 

Supporting & Mentoring Refugee Youth: Strategies for Building Cultural Competency

Refugee youth are navigating big changes and big dreams at the same time. This training gives you a quick tour of the refugee journey, busts misconceptions, and shares how mentors, programs and schools can create welcoming, culturally safe spaces. You’ll also hear directly from refugee youth about what really helps. 

Audience: Mentoring professionals, mentors, youth counselors, educators and anyone working with youth

We help mentoring programs across Nebraska grow stronger—at no cost. Our team of mentoring experts offers up to 50 hours of free, customized consulting based on your program’s unique needs.

Examples of support include:

• Recruiting and retaining mentors

• Building a program logic model

• Designing mentor training materials

• Strengthening volunteer screening practices

• Embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion practices

Learn More

We partner with youth-serving organizations, schools, and workplaces nationwide to create custom trainings and solutions tailored to their goals.

Recent partners include:

• Nebraska Dept. of Education
• South Dakota Dept. of Labor & Regulation
• Nebraska 4-H
• Latino Center of the Midlands
• My Brother’s Keeper
• Elevate Omaha
• CODE Black