The success of the Ambassador Program relies on the support, encouragement, and empowerment of community through mentor-ship. Mentoring is a process for the informal transmission of knowledge, made possible through regular and supportive interaction.

We encourage mentors to be as open to learning from their mentees, as they are to teaching, for the benefit and growth of both individuals and the program as a whole.

Being an Ambassador mentor also requires a basic familiarity with the Ambassador Program’s tools and processes that the A-team has put in place to better streamline the way Ambassadors run their activities (see Tools).

How to Become a Mentor

New Mentors are nominated by the A-team or through self-nomination, which is the process of proclaiming your interest to your own mentor or to the A-team directly. 

Mentor Responsbilities

Administrative

The mentor role comes with some very basic administrative tasks:

• Reviewing applications assigned to them by the A-team;
  
• Interviewing applicants to learn more about them, and tell them more about the program;
• Informing applicants whether or not they've been accepted to the program;
• Reviewing and screening budget requests;
• Providing feedback & suggestions to the A-team;
• Participating in regional meetings (online and offline), notably ONF regional developer conferences.

Mentoring

The mentor role is also important in the development and success of mentees, as future leaders of the program. These are the requirements of Ambassador mentor-ship:

•  Scheduling a 15-30-minute regular (bi-weekly or monthly) check-in with their mentee;
•  Inform opportunities for their mentees that can help them (e.g., a conference to attend, a skills training workshop in their area, etc.); 
• Ensure that their mentees produce event debrief after an event they have organized;
• Publicly celebrate the success of their initiatives on the Ambassadors mailing list.