Mentorship is often described as a powerful development tool…but what does it really take to make it work, and why does it matter for L&D leaders?
Join three mentor-mentee pairs from the L&D space—see the panelist bios in the section below—for a moderated panel conversation about how mentorship relationships form, evolve, and create lasting impact. This session goes beyond feel‑good stories to explore the conditions, commitments, and challenges that make mentorship meaningful and sustainable.
Panelists will share real experiences from both sides of the relationship, highlighting the role of trust, psychological safety, and organizational support in building successful mentorship environments.
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Attend the session
If you are a member of Roundtable for Learning Leaders, you should receive an email for this event.
More about the Session
We’ll discuss things like:
- How mentor-mentee relationships actually start and grow in the L&D field
- What mentors and mentees each contribute—and gain—from the relationship
- The organizational return on investment of mentorship, including its impact on engagement, retention, and leadership development
- How to make a business case for mentorship programs
- Practical ways to design and support mentorship programs without over‑engineering them
- Common obstacles—such as time constraints, mismatched expectations, or lack of buy‑in—and how to overcome them
Takeaways:
Whether you’re seeking a mentor, considering becoming one, or building mentorship into your L&D strategy, this session offers practical insights and honest lessons to help you move from intention to action—and build mentorship programs that truly deliver value over time.
| Tim Janes is Senior Director of Legal Operations at Medtronic, where he’s spent 25 years living at the intersection of legal, technology, and business operations. He enjoys building bridges: between legal teams and their clients, people and systems, strategy and execution, and the possible and practical.
A non-practicing attorney who dutifully completes his CLE requirements for reasons he can’t quite explain, Tim helps legal and compliance teams leverage technology to work smarter and deliver more value to the business. |
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| Jake Turner is a Senior Program Manager in the Office of Privacy, Integrity, & Compliance at Medtronic. For the last ten years he has led global training, communications, and creative initiatives. He oversees a large digital ecosystem—managing hundreds of websites and thousands of assets—to ensure accuracy, relevance, and positive end‑user experiences.
Jake brings strong mix of creative, artistic, and digital/AI capabilities to his work, applying modern tools to enhance program effectiveness and scale enterprise engagement. |
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| Julie Thiel is the Founder and CEO of Thiel Talent Strategy, where she helps growing businesses address people decisions before they create unnecessary strain.
She provides practical HR and leadership advisory support that helps issues surface earlier, managers stop guessing, and owners regain time and mental space to focus on growth. |
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| Patrick Karsnick has been a talent development professional for nearly 30 years. Currently serves as the Global Director of Talent for Protolabs, where he has been for over seven years.
Patrick currently leads Talent Acquisition, Talent Development, and Change Management for the Protolabs organization. |
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| Matt Haag is Director, Enterprise Learning and Development at Thrivent. Matt is responsible for the strategic direction of learning and development. His responsibilities include core leadership development programs, key talent nomination and acceleration programs, organizational effectiveness, and setting the enterprise learning strategy.
Matt has nearly 20 years of professional experience in marketing, strategy, change management, continuous improvement, and learning & development. |
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| Sneha Dugar, PhD, PMP, is a Program Lead at Ecolab specializing in digital transformation, continuous improvement, and change leadership.
With a foundation in Lean Six Sigma and scientific research, she excels at turning complex strategies into scalable business outcomes. Sneha is passionate about empowering teams and driving innovation across the enterprise. |
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