LTER Graduate Students and Postdocs Summer Mentoring Community of Practice

Join fellow graduate students and postdocs from across the LTER network to discuss and find support around the challenges that arise during mentoring. The community is designed so that participants can pick up effective practices from others and to share your own successful strategies. We encourage participants to share their current challenges, and the group will leverage our shared expertise to try and create solutions. Leave with actionable ideas and a deeper community of support. The Summer 2025 graduate student and postdoc cohort of our community-of-practice starts May 22, 2025.

What

The LTER Entering Mentoring Community of Practice will consist of a series of 1 hour, monthly virtual meetings held on the fourth Thursday of every month from May-September. Each session will be led by one of LTER’s trained facilitators and will focus on working through a ‘problem of practice’—challenges that you and your colleagues are currently dealing with—or case studies that capture common challenges in ecology and field science. You’ll have the chance to practice skills and learn strategies that you can apply in real time. 

Who

This community of practice is open to all LTER graduate students and postdocs.

Why

Effective mentorship can set both mentees and mentors up for success, from small projects all the way through careers. High quality mentorship also increases retention and productivity of researchers from marginalized groups. Mentors will practice and hone skills for engaging in productive and culturally responsive research mentoring relationships. As a bonus, you will be building community with other graduate students and postdocs from all around the LTER network!

Session Dates

5/22/2025
6/26/2025
7/24/2025
8/28/2025
9/25/2025

All sessions are scheduled for 1pm PT/ 4pm ET