MENTOR Expands Leadership with Addition of Tara Spann as Chief People & Strategy Officer

By: MENTOR

Press Release

BOSTON – As MENTOR enters its fourth decade unifying and leading the youth mentoring movement, the national nonprofit is expanding their leadership team with the addition of Tara Spann, who joins as the organization’s first Chief People and Strategy Officer on July 27. Tara will lead at the intersection of human resources, organizational strategy, equity, and inclusion.

“Tara will be fiercely focused on ensuring that MENTOR’s greatest asset—our staff—is best positioned to achieve our ambitious organizational goals. Her impact will extend to our Affiliates, the field, and other key stakeholders across sectors. Tara’s almost two decades of professional experience could have led her to many opportunities. We’re so glad she’s decided to invest her time and talent in the movement to ensure all young people have the relationships and conditions critical to striving and thriving,” said David Shapiro, CEO of MENTOR. “Hiring our first Chief People and Strategy Officer is a testament to our collective work to ensure and advance culture and infuse our diversity and values with creativity and commitment as we drive a deeper integration of our daily work and impact.”

Tara is a highly accomplished and enterprising leader with a myriad of cross-cutting experiences focused on people, strategy, diversity & inclusion, and process improvement. Most recently, Tara served as Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Eversource Energy. She has also held leadership roles at Merck, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, and Staples. She holds a degree in electrical engineering from Northeastern University and a law degree from Suffolk University Law School

“I am thrilled to join the flow of positive energy that already exists within MENTOR.  I look forward to bringing my strategic planning and inclusive leadership experience to advance, enrich, engage, and empower the people of MENTOR to continuously elevate the MENTOR vision toward greater impact,” said Tara. “My decision to join MENTOR is directly aligned with my desire to be of service, walk in my purpose, work with great people, and be an agent of change in this world.   I am honored that MENTOR has chosen me to lead and be led by great leaders.”

30 years ago, MENTOR was created to expand opportunity for all young people by building a youth mentoring field and movement. The result: a more than 10-fold increase in young people in structured mentoring relationships, from hundreds of thousands to millions. MENTOR recently refined its strategic plan to deliver on its vision and mission, with a renewed focus on bringing relationship-centered approaches to the places where young people live and learn, including schools and workplaces.

ABOUT MENTOR

MENTOR is the unifying champion for quality youth mentoring in the United States. Our mission is to expand the quality and quantity of mentoring relationships nationwide. Potential is equally distributed; opportunity is not. A major driver of healthy development and opportunity is who you know and who’s in your corner. 30 years ago, MENTOR was created to expand that opportunity for young people by building a youth mentoring field and movement. The result: a more than 10-fold increase in young people in structured mentoring relationships. Today, we are the expert voice representing a movement that is diverse and broad and seeps into every aspect of daily life – meeting young people everywhere they are from schools to workplaces and beyond.

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  • MENTOR National and Affiliates will use the information you provide to better inform future publications and keep you up to date with advancements in the mentoring field. For more information, check out our privacy policy.