she’s here MEntorship Program
RaiseHer Co. X University of Regina Champions of Change
Celebrating 6 Years of Mentorship!
2027 Program Theme: Reimagining a community where women and girls are safe everywhere!
THE WHAT
WHAT IS THIS PROGRAM?
RaiseHER Co. and the University of Regina Champions of Change Club are proud to come together for their 6th year to host She's Here Mentorship Program. This program is a FREE, in-person, project-based mentorship opportunity for up to 20 women and/or gender diverse post-secondary students (from any post-secondary institution) or new professionals (with less than 5 years working in their field) aged 18 to 25 (“Associates”) and up to 20 women and/or gender diverse matched working professionals (with over 5 years in their field) aged 25+ (“Professionals”) to help foster leadership skills and help enhance the ability for local organizations (in which the “Professionals” work at) to better support, recruit and adapt to the needs of the leaders of tomorrow.
2027 Project Theme: SAFE BY DESIGN
In our 6th annual year of the “She’s Here” Mentorship Program, RaiseHER Co. and Champions of Change Club at the University of Regina are proud to launch a bold new theme that all 2027 mentorship projects will be centred around:
“Safe by Design: Reimagining a community where women and girls are safe everywhere”.
What if we stopped asking women and girls to change their behaviour to stay safe and started changing the environments, systems and behaviours that put them at risk?
For the 6th annual She’s Here Mentorship Program, Associate + Professional matches will tackle the normalization of gender-based violence and explore what it would take for women and girls to feel safer at home, at school, at work, online and in their communities. The need for action is especially urgent here in Saskatchewan, where rates of intimate partner and gender-based violence remain among the highest in Canada. Yet safety is about more than responding to violence after it happens. It means examining the everyday policies, spaces, cultures and systems that determine whose safety is considered from the start.
Through this year’s program theme SAFE BY DESIGN, matches will identify a real-world safety challenge, learn from research and community expertise, and develop an actionable solution. Projects could tackle everything from consent and dating violence, coercive control and workplace harassment to online abuse, safe nightlife and transportation, sport culture, bystander intervention, healthy masculinity and community safety.
We’re currently working on sourcing local partners (i.e. non profits, associations and organizations with work and services related to this topic) to advise on this program projects and outcomes, serve as judges on our final Project Pitch Panel and help drive sustainability of the project work forward. If you’re interested in partnering, please email shesherementorship@gmail.com.
This theme also intersects with reconciliation and the disproportionate violence experienced by Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people, supporting the intent of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action #39, #40 and #41 around victimization, culturally appropriate victim services and violence against Indigenous women and girls.
Because keeping women safe shouldn't be women's job. Let's redesign what isn't working.
BONUS: As a gesture of our appreciation for the time, insights and efforts that program participants put into their project, ALL participants (Associates + Professionals) will be awarded an honorarium thanks to the generosity of our Honorarium Sponsor, Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan (WESK).
THE HOW
HOW CAN I BE APART OF THIS?
To be part of this FREE, for-impact program, all participants must fill out an online application and fully commit to participating in all above above-listed in-person meetings and sessions.
Application deadline for the 2027 She’s Here Mentorship Program is Nov. 23, 2026. All applications will be processed by November 29, 2026 and you will be notified via email only if you've been accepted into the program. Up to 20 Professionals and up to 20 Associates will be selected to take part in this year’s program and will be notified of your acceptance no later than December 4, 2026.
For questions or more information on this program, please email shesherementorship@gmail.com
THE PROJECT
What you will work on
Each mentorship match completes a small, impact-driven project, completed over a month in any format that works for you (in-person, virtual, or a mix).
Projects follow a simple structure: identify a problem, explore why it exists, propose a research-informed solution, and outline realistic next steps. You’re not expected to implement the solution - just design it thoughtfully. Projects should all include extensive research with a hypothesis and suggested solution and might take the form of a new initiative, policy change, campaign, resource, program, community intervention or something we haven’t thought of yet.
The program culminates on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2027, when matches will take the stage at our annual pitch showcase to present their solutions to a panel of community advisors, decision-makers and changemakers, alongside a public audience.
The goal? Move great ideas beyond the mentorship program and into the hands of people and organizations who can help fund, champion, pilot or carry them forward to create meaningful change in our community.
Because awareness matters but what we do next matters more.
Examples of Projects over the years
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2021: Diversity On Medical intake forms
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2022: Period Education in Regina Schools
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2023: Accessibility of Services
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2025: She Rise Business Directory
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2025: COMMUNITY, CONFIDENCE AND CONNECTION
THE WHEN
WHEN IS THIS PROGRAM HAPPENING?
The program sessions below will be held in person in Regina from January - March each year (see below for 2027 dates). Further details of the exact location and preparation for program sessions will be shared with all selected applicants once the application process closes.
- Tuesday, January 12, 2027 from 7:00 -8:30 pm- Program Information Session (both Associates + Professional participants)
- Tuesday, January 19, 2027 from 7:00-9:00 pm - Mentorship Match Networking (both Associates + Professional participants)
- January 29 - March 5, 2027 - Mentee/Mentor working sessions (minimum 4 hours of meeting time planned by individual Associate + Professional groups). Mentorship Program Projects must be submitted by March 5.
- Monday, March 8, 2027 from 5:30-9:00 pm- Mentorship Project Presentation + Celebration (both Associates + Professional participants)
THE showcase
PITCH FOR PROGRESS 2027
Pitch for Progress is the final showcase of the 6th annual She's Here Mentorship Program project work. It's the night our Associate + Professional matches take the stage to pitch their solutions for this year's theme: "Safe by Design: Reimagining a community where women and girls are safe everywhere."
Over the course of the program, each match has picked a real safety challenge facing women and girls in our community, researched why it exists and designed a practical solution. On March 8, they bring those ideas to a room full of emerging leaders, community advocates, professionals and decision-makers. The goal is to connect great ideas with the people who can champion, support and carry them forward.
Monday, March 8, 2027 (International Women's Day)
5:30 to 9:00 pm
Estelle Event Centre, Regina
WHAT TO EXPECT
This isn't a stuffy conference or a formal gala. Think bold voices, good food and big conversations. Over the evening, you can expect:
Live project pitches from this year's She’s Here Mentorship Program matches
Perspectives from community leaders and experts working to make Regina safer for women, girls and gender-diverse people
Courageous and inspiring storytelling
Networking over appetizers and mocktails
Impact Investment Cards where you can tell us how you'd support a project (funding, mentorship, introductions, piloting an idea or helping spread the word) and a Progress Pledge Wall where you commit to one action toward safer communities
Live audience polling so your voice is part of the night and you cast your vote to help determine the People’s Choice winning project!
WHO WINS?
A panel of community judges will hear every pitch, ask questions, give feedback and choose one winning project to receive funding to get it launched!
You get a vote too. Guests will choose the People's Choice winner, who will also receive funding to help bring their idea to life.
TICKETS AVAILABLE SOON!
Pitch for Progress is open to the public, and tickets will be priced to stay accessible, with student pricing available. Ticket sales open in February 2027.
Want to know first? Email shesherementorship@gmail.com, and we'll let you know the moment tickets go on sale.
PARTNER WITH US
We want Pitch for Progress to be more than one night. Our hope is that it becomes an annual gathering where businesses, organizations and community members come together to back emerging leaders and help community-driven ideas become real.
Sponsoring Pitch for Progress puts your organization in the room with emerging talent and shows your commitment to safer communities. It also helps turn promising ideas into action. Sponsorship and in-kind opportunities are available.
To learn more about partnering, email shesherementorship@gmail.com.
THE WHY
WHY ARE WE HOSTING THIS PROGRAM?
The goal of this program is to provide post-secondary students and new professionals with first hand experience of what it is like to take on leadership roles in various industries, and reinforce that women do belong and thrive in leadership positions. The experience will provide students and young professionals or “Associates” with an opportunity to collaborate with a seasoned local “Professional” mentor to collectively solve a problem while both building and exercising leadership qualities. In turn, the “Professional” offers space for the “Associate” to share their experiences and knowledge on how their company/organization can better support youth-focused issues, attract young women and/or gender-diverse individuals and create spaces that set up the next generation of leaders for success.
Why is it important to offer space for youth in decision-making positions? The next generation of leaders is here and is watching. Youth have been at the forefront of all major social justice movements, and since youth experience the world differently, they are able to ameliorate work environments to a more modern and creative space. Including youth in conversations breaks down intergenerational divides to allow any and all organizations to have sustainable development. Welcoming the youth’s unique perspective offers insight into issues + context to issues that might have been largely ignored or simply unknown.
THE IMPACT ON PARTICIPANTS
After hearing from past participants of the program, some of the top skills gained and strengthened throughout the experience included, but were not limited to:
Leadership
Networking
Public speaking
Project management
Writing/communication
Creativity
Team-oriented thinking
Not only did they gain important skills needed to succeed and make meaningful changes in our community and the organizations within it, but feedback from our Mentorship Program participants also indicates that:
83% say the Mentorship Program was valuable to leadership development
100% would recommend the program to others
100% say the Mentorship Program gave a new perspective on leadership and the value of youth perspectives
67% said Mentorship Program exposed them to new leadership opportunities and made meaningful change in Regina
THE PURPOSE
WHY WE’VE COME TOGETHER
RaiseHER Community and the University of Regina Champions of Change Club are movements dedicated to enhancing the empowerment, equality and advancement of women and girls by providing them with unique confidence and leadership-building information, opportunities, experiences and resources.
Their shared commitment to raising up the leaders of tomorrow has spawned the creation of this free intergenerational project-based mentorship program.
This program was created to provide women at different stages of their career paths hands-on opportunities to learn what it is like to take on leadership roles in various industries, be change-makers in helping to make the local work landscape more inclusive to women and reinforce that women do belong and thrive in leadership positions.
