FORT RILEY, Kan. — The 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley’s Women Mentorship Program hosted its monthly meeting Feb. 4, 2022, at Irwin Army Community Hospital.
Maj. Lynae Place, an obstetric/gynecologist nurse assigned to IACH, started the program in the fall of 2021 with the mission to empower and build confidence in Army leaders through female mentorship, education and coaching to strengthen the Army’s ranks with experienced, dedicated and resilient female leaders.
“There’s so much knowledge to be planted and grown by people within every organization,” said Place. “You don’t know those skill sets until you have those conversations, so we use that to build our connections with one another.”
Inspired to begin the organization from a Facebook group, Place said she’s seen a huge spike in participation and support from other Soldiers and local community members.
“The last meeting posted our highest numbers so far,” she said. “We started with about 10-15 participants when the program kicked off, and this last meeting had upwards of 40 participants.”
Although initially intended for women, the group has also seen more than a handful of men participate in meetings, guest speak and join the organization.
“This is an opportunity for not just women, but men, civilians, active duty, to come together to see perspectives from other people and gain knowledge they may have not known about,” said Place. “Now we’re trying to promote this is not just for women. We won’t deny anyone the opportunity to come and gain knowledge and experience, as well as share their own knowledge and experience.”
The group hosts its meetings at noon every first Friday of the month in the IACH education classrooms. While just starting the organization and looking forward to continuing running it, Place said that she hopes the Women’s Mentorship Program lasts at Fort Riley long after her departure.
“I kind of want to see this program impact others to where they find value in it and take it to their next organization, because that’s what I did,” she said. “Anyone that wants to build leadership skills, connections and even friendship, I encourage you to come to any of our future meetings.”
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