celebrate mentorship and elevate your growth. join us to recognize the fy24 mentors of the year with special guest Greg Pontrelli

(L) Greg Pontrelli, president of Lausanne Business Solutions – a consulting and training company that improves individual and team performance, and (R) Ambus Hunter, NAVAIR mentoring program manager, discuss the importance of mentorship during NAVAIR’s 2024 Mentors of Year National Mentoring Month event January 28

NAVAIR’s 2024 Mentors of Year celebrated at National Mentoring Month event

Eleven employees were named 2024 Mentors of the Year as part of Naval Air Systems Command’s Mentoring Month observance January 28.

“In today’s ‘Get Real, Get Better’ work environment, mentorship is proving to be even more valuable in the elevation of the personal and professional growth of our workforce members,” said Adrienne Somerville, deputy director, NAVAIR Command Operations Group. “Mentorship is all about honesty and growth, getting real about where you are and getting better with the guidance and action. True mentors challenge you to see yourself clearly, and then empower you to rise above your limits. Growth starts when real meets better.”

Out of 58 individual nominations, 11 employees received the honor. Each Mentor of the Year winner also submitted a video acceptance that was played during the virtual event.

“Mentoring is my opportunity to support my teammates as they think through career shifts and decisions, navigate the Naval Aviation Enterprise, think through professional and ethical dilemmas and are exposed to career opportunities and resources,” said Lindley Bark, director, special projects, Human Systems Engineering Department, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Patuxent River. “I receive enormous satisfaction seeing my mentees grow, succeed and enjoy their part in executing the naval aviation mission.”

For Chad Guillet, Navy Integration Management branch head/Marine Corps general training assistant program manager for logistics, Sustainment Department, Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD) Orlando, being a coach and mentor gives him the opportunity to build a better today and shape a better future with his mentees.

“Being in a leadership and mentoring position, I believe it is extremely important that I am challenging myself and that I am influencing – in a positive environment – the development of the professional employees that I serve,” he said.

Mentorship has always been close to the heart of Justin Vidal-Phillips, acting director of business operations, Integrated Spectrum Warfare Department, and branch head for System Engineering Integration and Core Mission Planning, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) Point Mugu, because he thinks it helps others see the potential in themselves.

“My goals as a mentor have always been to offer a vision of a destination and [offer] guidance along a path to that destination,” he said.   

For Aviation Maintenance Administrationman Petty Officer 1st Class (AZ1) Natalia Watson, Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRC SE) Jacksonville, mentoring goes well beyond assisting with military duties as she aims to instill quality life values that will impact the lives of young sailors positively.

“Being a mentor has allowed me to grow as a leader by enhancing my understanding of others, boosting my active listening skills and improving my ability to provide affective council when appropriate,” she said. “Mentoring is a double-sided coin, and I learn just as much from my mentees as they learn from me. They are my motivation.”

Initiated in 2013, the Mentor of the Year Awards recognize mentors who show leadership, skill, productivity, and have improved morale and workforce retention. This year’s winners are:

  • NAVAIR Headquarters/Program Executive Office – Matthew Stepura
  • NAWCAD Patuxent River/Webster Outlying Field – Lindley Bark
  • NAWCAD Lakehurst – Steven Bardenhagen
  • NAWCTSD Orlando – Chad Guillet
  • NAWCWD China Lake – Henry Frohlich
  • NAWCWD Point Mugu – Justin Vidal-Phillips
  • Commander, FRC – Jeffrey Peed
  • FRC Southwest North Island – Jackie Hansen
  • FRC Southeast Jacksonville – AZ1 Natalia Watson
  • FRC East Cherry Point – Jennifer Walter
  • FRC West Lemoore – Chris Martin

After the Mentor of the Year winners were announced, participants listened to a casual, sit-down conversation between Ambus Hunter, NAVAIR mentoring program manager, and Greg Pontrelli, president of Lausanne Business Solutions – a consulting and training company that improves individual and team performance.

According to Hunter, “In this discussion on honesty, humility and power, Greg shared powerful strategies to help you get real and get better in mentorship, from building trust to delivering meaningful feedback and forging lasting career connections.”

Pontrelli said he was lucky to find a mentor early in his career. However, he had a boss – now a lifelong mentor – who helped him understand his capabilities and deficits. He transformed the way Pontrelli looked at himself and his career and its trajectory.

“Maybe I needed to have a breakdown before I could have a breakthrough,” Pontrelli explained.

According to Pontrelli, great mentors help you get real, reflect and gain self-awareness.

“They help you understand your capabilities and your deficits and then where you really want to go,” he said. “They help you figure out how to get there right, how to develop on the strengths and how to minimize the weaknesses.”

Pontrelli said is the same for any mentor/mentee relationship.

“Honesty means first self-reflecting on what your capabilities are, what your deficits are, the things you need to work around, and then also why you're doing the things that you're doing,” he said.

Pontrelli said he wants to make sure mentors, in their capacity, help mentees, and do it well.

“That’s kind of what motivates me, the power of mentoring,” he said. “I've seen individual lives transformed, I've seen teams improved and I've seen how mentoring really can change the culture within an organization.”

 

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