Leading Today: Spotlight on the Girls of Color Mentoring Network
The inaugural Girls R.I.S.E. Symposium was hosted at Albertus Magnus College in May.
“What are the pathways to leadership for girls of color in our region?” “How can those vital efforts be amplified and put into meaningful partnership?”
These are some of the questions guiding the Girls of Color Mentoring Network, a coalition of mentoring organizations serving girls and young women of color in Greater New Haven. Staff and volunteers representing each organization regularly meet to strategize about how to broaden outreach, better collaborate and plan events that foster in-person connections between young women of color and local role models.
In May, the Network held the Girls R.I.S.E. Symposium, which brought together more than 50 girls and mentors for a day of engaging workshops, meaningful connections and deep-diving conversations centered on self-esteem. The Community Foundation Director of Program & Evaluation Kara Straun said that most of all, the Network is about connecting. “Folks just love coming together,” Straun said.
TCF Director of Program & Evaluation Kara Straun says this group selfie (from both angles) “exemplifies the spirit” of the Fund for Women & Girls, and the Girls of Color Mentoring Network. (L to R) LaToya Howard Katrina Rice, Yvonne Jones, Shirley Ellis-West, Miriam James.
The Network was established in 2022 by the Community Fund for Women and Girls to increase the number the number and capacity of grassroots mentoring organizations led by women of color.
“Spaces like this are not just about mentorship. They’re about seeing and affirming each other’s lived experiences,” said Eliaris Brito Castillo, a 22-year-old mentor and a participant at a Network meeting in July. Brito Castillo is a New Haven Promise fellow who until recently was a mentee herself.
Eliaris Brito Castillo participates in a recent roundtable discussion for the Girls of Color Mentorship Network.
Brito Castillo observed that effective outreach strategies prioritize building real-life, personal connections. “For the most part, it’s really staying in contact with schools [and students] because as much as social media is helpful, it is intimidating. Students nowadays have lots of anxiety. So just go see if they might be a little fearful or have doubts,” she said.
As a New Haven Promise fellow, 15 years after Promise programming first reached her in the second-grade classroom, Brito Castillo is helping launch Level Up for Success, a professional development program for women-identifying Promise Scholars and Alumni.
When considering the significance of the Network in her own personal and professional development, Brito Castillo touched on her story as a first-generation Dominican American, and the first to graduate college. “My mom’s strength, resilience and insistence on being a strong woman shaped who I am today. Being in a room of women committed to lifting each other up felt like a continuation of that legacy and reminded me why these conversations and collaborations are so vital. Events like this create opportunities for authentic connection, resource-sharing and collective problem-solving, all of which are essential to building stronger, more equitable communities.”
2025 Girls of Color Mentoring Network
CMWP Foundation
D.E.S.T.I.N.E.D. to Succeed, Inc.
National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc.
New Haven Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc
Phenomenal I Am, Inc.
Spanish Community of Wallingford
Theta Epsilon Omega Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Urban Community Alliance
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