Magazine Spring 2024 Women Mentoring Women

Longtime friends Denise Jackson ’78 and Teri Bradford Rouse ’77 have launched a new initiative promoting a shared passion: women mentoring women. The six-week pilot Women’s Mentoring Program kicked off in February, well-timed to support Women’s History Month in March. Initially, a few women in the Westmont community will mentor women students in their senior year. As the project gets underway, Teri and Denise hope to expand the number of people participating.

Both of these alumnae, who also serve on the college’s board of trustees, have gained extensive experience as mentors. Denise has spent her career working in human resources and overseeing efforts to develop employees. She focuses on advising women as they build their careers. Teri has worked with college women much of her professional life. Now retired, she has earned certification as a spiritual director and seeks to encourage women to grow in their faith. They’ve each written a curriculum for mentors to follow in a structured program: one for professional development and one for spiritual mentoring. The former focuses on teaching young women about calling, navigating the workplace, advocating for themselves and planning for the future; the latter provides tools for listening to God, growing in faith and serving others.

“Women in their early 20s face a variety of challenges, and we want to whet their appetite for seeking out people who can help them navigate life.” – Denise Jackson ’78

The guidelines encourage mentors to spend 60 to 90 minutes each week with the young women they’re advising, selecting their own days and times. The curricula include more than enough content for these meetings, which can occur in person or by Zoom. “Mentors can pick and choose the information that works best for them,” Denise says. “We also want to pair life goals between mentors and mentees to make sure some affinity exists.

“We hope to find Westmont women and those affiliated with the college who have mentored before and can share experiences and perspectives from their lives. Eventually, we’ll ask for a longer commitment than six weeks so mentors can help students navigate their college career.”

Teri and Denise held an orientation by Zoom on February 15 to introduce mentors to the curricula and the goals of the program. “Women in their early 20s face a variety of challenges, and we want to whet their appetite for seeking out people who can help them navigate life,” Denise says. “As they enter the workforce, young women can benefit by learning to work with experienced women — and by understanding how to relate with all their professional colleagues. In these first six weeks, we expect to plant seeds rather than harvest them.”

“We’ve been thinking about how to best deploy our skill sets and passions regarding mentoring,” Teri says. “Four years ago, we developed some ideas relating to transitions in life and what matters to women. This initial work led to the new curricula for tracks in professional development and spiritual growth. As mentors draw on this material in advising senior women students, we’ll learn what works and how we can make it better. We’re excited to see where the program goes and hope it makes an impact and provides a great opportunity for the college and those who get involved. It’s applicable to women in different stages of their lives and not just when they’re graduating from college. Of course, mentoring requires more than six sessions, and we look forward to expanding the initiative after the pilot program ends.”

“I’ve worked in corporate America for 40 years,” Denise says. “I think back to my first mentor and how that person shaped

my career. I’ve learned how important it is to pass on mentoring because it plays a key role in helping women succeed. We have unique challenges in the workplace that other women understand, and we can support and encourage each other. I’m a big proponent of connectivity, especially among women.”

Denise seeks to mentor Westmont students because the college has played such an important role in her life. “My relationships and my closest friends all come from Westmont, whether I knew them here or have met them along the way,” she says. For three years, she took a break from her corporate career and served as a resident director at Westmont, an experience she values.

She joined Pacific Clinics in 2014 and serves as interim chief human resources officer. Throughout her career, Denise has worked in human resources management at Career Education Corporation, Regency Lighting, the Walt Disney Company, and other businesses.

“We’re excited to see where the program goes and hope it makes an impact.” – Teri Bradford Rouse ’77

She has taught human resources classes for the UCLA extension program. From 2011 to 2019, she served as the Alumni Council representative to the Westmont Board of Trustees before becoming a trustee in 2020. She graduated from Westmont with a degree in political science and earned a Master of Public Administration at American University.

Denise’s curriculum in professional development reflects her high standard of excellence and commitment to professional ethics. She seeks to champion change and innovation. As a mentor, she draws on her skills as a communicator, collaborator and problem-solver. “I always seek to establish common ground with diverse groups and points of view,” she says.

As her career progressed, Denise learned the importance of a balanced life. “Through some personal challenges, I recreated my life and got my priorities in order,” she says. “I no longer define myself by my job. There are other things in my life that I want to do and be.”

Teri worked at Westmont as a resident director, director of residence life and associate dean of students from 1981 to 1998. She then held several positions in the Santa Barbara non-profit community, including executive director of the Youth and Family Services Branch of the Channel Islands YMCA. In 2008, she returned to Westmont as senior director of alumni and parent relations and retired in 2019. She graduated from Westmont in 1977 with a major in sociology and earned a master’s degree at USC in counselor education with an emphasis in college student development.

“At Westmont, the soil of my life grew more fertile for intimacy with Christ and thinking deeply about the world and my unique call in it,” she says. “The seeds of learning took root, helping me be a person of conviction while acting with compassion. I began to hold my beliefs in sweet tension with the complexities of the world, to ask the hard questions and to take the message of Christ into the world. I love finding creative and meaningful ways for people to share resources and talents. The possibilities for these kinds of connections, especially among women, are endless.”

Denise and Teri urge women in the Westmont community with professional or spiritual mentoring experience to sign up as mentors by emailing mentoringinfo@westmont.edu. Please put “Women’s Mentorship Program” in the subject line.

“I hope women will see themselves as mentors and participate in the program,” Teri says. “I encourage them to consider giving their time and talent in this way. Everyone has something to offer.”