Program Overview
Program Overview
Now entering its 6th year, the AIGA NY Mentorship Program has grown from an initiative for early-career professionals into a platform supporting creatives across all career stages.
In 2024, the program facilitated 113 successful mentorship pairings while fostering meaningful connections through in-person networking events.
This report is for everyone who has contributed to making AIGA NY what it is today. Whether you’ve participated in the Mentorship Program, attended an event, volunteered your time, or supported our mission in other ways, your involvement has been essential. Through this report, we want to provide a behind-the-scenes look at how the program operates, share the insights we’ve gathered, and outline our goals for the future. By being transparent about our work, we hope to inspire continued collaboration and ensure that the program reflects the needs and aspirations of everyone it serves.
This report is informed by statistics collected from previous cohorts, feedback from Office Hours, and exit surveys, providing insights into the community we serve and areas for future growth. Our mission remains to sustain engagement with the design community while broadening outreach, addressing inequities, and staying relevant in a rapidly changing industry.
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
1. Program Size
In 2024, we accepted over 70 mentors and 112 mentees. Each year, we aim to maintain an average mentor-to-mentee ratio of 1:1.5. By keeping this balance, we ensure that every participant has access to valuable resources, personalized guidance, and meaningful networking opportunities. However, to continue offering impactful pairings, we need more mentors. Join next year’s cohort Sign up today and become part of this year’s cohort!
2. Mentorship Programming
The nine-month program is divided into two distinct phases. The first three months offer a structured, guided experience designed to provide participants with a strong foundation for building meaningful connections. This is followed by the self-guided phase, offering participants the flexibility to continue developing these relationships at their own pace.
↑ AIGA NY’s Involvement Throughout the program
During the structured phase and beyond, we offer office hours to facilitate virtual networking events and address any questions. We also encourage participants to self-organize meetups to further engage with one another. Additionally, a dedicated Slack channel serves as a central hub for the cohort, fostering peer-to-peer connections, sharing resources, and allowing the Mentorship team to announce upcoming events, updates and pose questions on relevant design topics.
While one-on-one mentorship remains the core of the program, we also emphasize the importance of cultivating broader professional networks. Through events, workshops, and mixers—both in-person and virtual—we create opportunities for participants to connect with others in the community. These varied formats have been instrumental in fostering connections beyond individual pairings. Looking ahead, we aim to expand these initiatives, guided by the needs and feedback of our growing community.
Kickoff Event
Mentors and mentees will virtually gather at a Kick-off event at the start of the program to get to know each other and understand the general timeline of the program. At the end of the Kick-off, mentors and mentees will find out who their match is.
↑ 2023 Virtual Kick-off Event
Office Hours
For the first three months of the program, we host office hours to answer any questions mentors and mentees may have about how to navigate their mentorship meetings.
Self-Initiated Meetups
After 3 months, the program enters a self-guided portion. The local meet-up Slack channels in our program allow participants to organize their own local meetups to get to know each other beyond the one-on-one pairing. Mentors and mentees also get a chance to mingle after attending post-AIGA NY event-mixers.
↑ 2019 In-person Kick-off Event
AIGA NY provided a structured approach that has given me more confidence to take on long-term mentoring roles. It was a pleasure to be a part of her journey, and I'm confident we'll stay connected in the future.
Vidhi Patel, 2024 Mentor
3. Professional Roles/Job Functions
We are honored to serve our creative community, with participants spanning a diverse range of roles, including branding, art direction, and product design (UX/UI). A key strength of the program lies in its ability to adapt to shifts in industry trends, ensuring it remains relevant to our participants' needs. For upcoming cohorts, the Mentorship team is committed to staying aligned with the evolving landscape of design, particularly in areas such as AI, sustainable design, and accessibility—not to predict trends but to remain open to the expanding reach of our community. This year, we’ve decided to split the application period for the 2025 cohort, with separate deadlines for mentees and mentors. This approach will allow us to better understand the needs of mentees and recruit mentors, ensuring more tailored and effective pairings reflective of the state of the current design industry.
As our program continues to grow, we want to hear from you: What disciplines do you think we should reach out to more? Where do you see opportunities to expand and connect? We are evolving with you and are excited to explore where our collective creativity can take us.
↑ Top 3 disciplines we cover in this program in the past
The beautiful thing about mentorship is that it's a two-way street. Where every individual, regardless of professional experience and where they are in life—you're always able to learn something new and gain a different perspective.
Jamon Sin, 2024 Mentor
4.Age Distribution and Career Stages
One unique aspect of this program is the opportunity to be both a mentor and a mentee, fostering a dynamic learning environment for all participants. As the program expands to all career stages, we've found that engagement is strongest among early-career and mid-career professionals. We encourage individuals at all career levels to get involved. However, we recognize that advanced career participants are underrepresented.
To address this, we're launching a new mentorship track tailored to seasoned designers, starting in April 2025. This Executive and Advanced Mentorship Program will connect executive-level and senior design leaders, offering one-on-one mentorship and collaborative group interactions. It aims to support participants in navigating leadership challenges, fostering innovation, and building a network for mutual growth.
Know someone who might be interested in being a part of this pilot program? Send them this form
↑ Distribution of mentees by career stage in 2024
The AIGA NY mentorship has been monumental in introducing me to the design industry and exposing me to new fields. I have a better idea of how I want to incorporate design into my career and passions now.
Lord Crawford, 2024 Mentee
5.Diversity and Representation
The program continues to see a strong representation of women, underscoring our commitment to fostering gender equity in design. While the diversity of our participants reflects progress, increasing outreach to underrepresented groups remains a top priority. To truly support the breadth of experiences and perspectives in our mentee pool, we need mentors who can resonate with and reflect these diverse needs.
If you or someone you know has a background or perspective that could enrich this community, we encourage you to get involved. Your unique experiences can play a crucial role in guiding and inspiring the next generation of designers.
↑ Race distribution of mentors and mentees in 2023 and 2024
Opportunities for Growth
Opportunities for Growth
Our goal remains to foster a vibrant, inclusive community that supports designers at every stage of their careers. By addressing emerging areas of design, prioritizing diverse representation, and providing opportunities for meaningful connections, we aim to create a program that evolves alongside the needs of our participants.
Your feedback and involvement are key to shaping this journey, and we are excited to continue building this community together.
Questions for Reflection and Action
How can we create more opportunities for you to connect with peers and mentors?
What types of events would inspire you to participate more actively in the program?
Are we addressing the skills and career needs most relevant to your role in today’s evolving design industry?
What emerging areas of design should we explore to better serve our community?
Does the program provide the right level of support for your career stage?
Would you or someone you know benefit from our new advanced-career mentorship track?
How can we ensure the program reflects the full diversity of the design community?
What outreach strategies might help us engage underrepresented groups more effectively?
I came into this mentorship feeling I need someone's help to do something, but I came out of it knowing I can get help to do things on my own.
Iris Deng, 2024 Mentee
Apply to the 2025 Cohort!
Apply to the 2025 Cohort!
We extend our heartfelt thanks to our mentors, mentees, volunteers, and future sponsors for making this program a success. Together, we can continue empowering the design community and shaping the future of design. We invite you to join us in shaping the future of design by engaging with AIGA NY. Whether you're looking to mentor, be mentored, or both, there’s a place for you in our vibrant community.
Additionally, we are piloting a mentorship program connecting senior design leaders through one-on-one and group interactions to foster mutual growth. Fill out the interest check today to stay updated!
We invite you to join us in shaping the future of design by engaging with AIGA NY. Whether you're looking to mentor, be mentored, or both, there’s a place for you in our vibrant community.
As we approach the sixth season of the AIGA NY Mentorship Program, we would like to remind you that the application is opening in one week!
Application open for everyone: December 2nd, 2024
Application close for mentees: December 20th, 2024
Application close for mentors: January 10th, 2025
Enrollment for executive peer mentors: April 1, 2025
Mentorship Program Co-Leads:
raven.mo@newyork.aiga.org
carolyn.thomas@newyork.aiga.org
AIGA NY Executive Director:
stacey@newyork.aiga.org
Warmly,
AIGA NY Mentorship Team
Questions?
Email us at mentorship@newyork.aiga.org with any questions regarding the mentorship program.
AIGA NY Mentorship is volunteer-based. If you wish to donate, reach us at stacey@aigany.org