On June 6th, AABANY’s Mentorship Program held its Kick-Off Meeting at Baker McKenzie, where mentors and mentees got the chance to meet each other in person, some for the first time, to begin their mentorships. 

Keynote speaker for the event was Gabrielle Lyse Brown, Executive Director of Diversity and Inclusion at the New York City Bar Association, who spoke about her own mentorship experience as a young professional being mentored by an attorney at Morgan Stanley. That relationship continues to this day, and Gabrielle shared how she learned and grew as a result of that mentorship. She also informed the attendees how to maximize all the advantages and connections a good mentorship relationship could provide. After Gabrielle’s insightful and helpful remarks, the mentors and mentees continued getting to know each other better and also mingled with others in attendance.

A number of attendees came in search of mentors. Shruti Chopra, who is chairing the Mentorship Program, mentioned in her opening remarks that we are taking applications from mentors and mentees on a rolling basis this year. Those without mentors or mentees were invited to give their names and contact information to Shruti who undertook to get them matched up.

If you were not able to attend the Mentorship Program Kick-Off Meeting and would like to participate in this year’s program as a mentor or mentee, or have questions about the program, contact Shruti at [email protected].

We would like to give special thanks to Baker McKenzie for hosting this kick-off meeting, which included light hors d’oeuvres and drinks. Thanks to Gabrielle Lyse Brown for imparting her knowledge and tips about mentorships which will surely help this year’s class of mentors and mentees in building strong bonds in the coming weeks and months (and perhaps years).