Training

Supporting & Mentoring Refugee Youth: Strategies for Building Cultural Competency

Date: April 23, 2026
Time: 12-1 PM CST
Location: Virtual
Facilitator: Mary Royers
Panelists: Meena Rahmanzai, Sakinah Kanunde and Sostaine Nibigira
Audience: Mentoring & youth-serving professionals, mentors, youth counselors, educators and caregivers

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. 

Becoming a Better Mentor: Making Room for Fun & Play

Date: May 21, 2026
Time: 12-1 PM CST
Location: Virtual
Facilitators: Alisa Moore, Melissa Westbrook & Victoria Drake (Kids Can)
Audience: Mentoring & youth-serving professionals, mentors, youth counselors, educators and caregivers

Strong mentoring relationships aren’t built on conversation alone—they’re built through shared joy. This training explores how incorporating fun and play can deepen connection, build trust, and create more meaningful mentoring experiences. Participants will gain practical, easy-to-use strategies to bring energy, creativity, and engagement into their time with mentees. Because when young people feel joy, they feel seen—and that’s where real connection begins.

Elements of Effective Practice in Mentoring Virtual Series

Dates: The first Thursday of the month from March-June (March 5, April 2, May 7, June 4)
Time: 9-11:30 AM CST
Location:  Virtual
Facilitators: MENTOR Nebraska, MENTOR Iowa & MENTOR Kansas
Audience: Mentoring & youth-serving professionals, mentors, youth counselors, educators and caregivers

High-quality mentoring doesn’t happen by chance—it’s built on proven practices. This four part training series 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.

Collaborative Mentoring Webinar Series

Monthly on the 3rd Thursday
12 - 1:30 PM CST
Format: Webinar
Audience: Mentoring & youth-serving professionals

This webinar series is hosted by MENTOR National and facilitated by MENTOR and a planning team of MENTOR Affiliates, including MENTOR Nebraska. Through ongoing planning and evaluation of the latest developments in the field, this team delivers a webinar each month focused on strengthening mentoring practice, sharing new resources, and helping the field put research into practice.

MENTOR Nebraska provides capacity building support (called technical assistance) to mentoring programs throughout the state. Our team of mentoring experts can provide up to 50 hours of free consulting based on your program’s individual needs.

Examples include:

• Guidance on mentor recruitment
• Creating a program logic model
• Developing mentor training materials
• Strengthening volunteer screening practices
• Implementing diversity, equity & inclusion practices

Learn More

We also contract with youth-serving programs, schools, nonprofits, and government/community organizations across the country to develop custom trainings based on their specific needs.

Recent projects include:

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