The views expressed here are those of Kimryn Rathmell alone.
Today’s column is excerpted from a speech delivered at an event celebrating International Women’s Day. The Lustgarten Foundation, in partnership with Johns Hopkins Medicine, hosted “The Power of Persistence—Women Transforming Cancer Research and Care.” The topic of the presentation was the role of mentorship in navigating transitions and pivoting to leadership.
I chose to share this set of remarks that were a part of the larger discussion and celebration of International Women’s Day, because mentorship really does matter, and mentorship conducted well and with great intention is incredibly valuable. With thanks to all the great mentors out there, and encouragement for everyone on their mentorship journey to be intentional and check in with your mentees who might be navigating transitions now or in the future.
Thanks Linda [Tantawi], Liz [Jaffee]. Marge [Foti], you are a tough act to follow, and I just have to say the impact you have had on women in cancer through the AACR as well as your own actions as a role model is legendary.
I was really excited to get to talk about the role that mentorship plays in women’s leadership development. It’s a topic that I’ve thought a lot about, and also that I’ve benefitted from, and that I think is not always applied with enough intention. There is an art to mentorship, and I want to share some of how that has helped me navigate career transitions and pivot to leadership roles.
