The Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring was founded in 2012 through a generous gift from  MENTOR: National Mentoring Partnership. Our mission is to drive evidence-based innovation that advances mentoring practice and helps to bridge gaps in mental health among young people, particularly in marginalized communities.  Our team of clinical and community psychologists, postdocs, doctoral students, and undergraduates generate, test, and apply scientific knowledge in collaboration with a broad network of mentoring programs, practitioners, and scholars.

Research: We are currently testing models in which volunteer mentors are trained to support and extend the therapeutic effects of face-to-face and mobile mental health treatments. The hope is that volunteers can help to bridge gaps in mental health services. We are also conducting several studies on mentoring process and outcome, with a focus on college students, children of incarcerated parents, and children involved in programs.

Graduate training: Dr. Jean Rhodes and Assoc. Director, Dr. Alexandra Werntz, provide research training to  graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, along with funding for assistantships, summer salary, and travel to professional meetings and statistical workshops. Students’ rigorous work has been recognized both within and beyond the university including the Chancellor’s Distinguished Dissertation Award and the APA Division 27’s Dissertation of the Year Award. Many former students hold faculty positions in psychology departments and medical schools. We are a grant-supported, research-oriented lab so are particularly interested in mentoring graduate students who are obsessed with research, have research experience, and can work independently–but also want to work collaboratively with us on our ongoing projects! 

Dissemination: In addition to peer-reviewed articles, the Center’s signature publications, the Chronicle of Evidence-Based Mentoring, strives to present information, especially scientific information, in a way that is accessible and actionable.