Mentoring News Post Archives

iRT to Evaluate the Impact of Training Mentors on Youth Impacted by Substance Misuse

Elizabeth Porter2025-02-21T19:34:28+00:00

February 21, 2025, Durham, NC – iRT is excited to announce that it has received funding from the National Institutes of Health to evaluate the impact of a web-based training program on mentors working with mentees who have been impacted by substance misuse. Approximately 14.7% of youth 12 to 17 years old reported using illicit drugs in 2023, and more than 21 million children in the U.S. lived with a parent who misused substances between 2015 and 2019.1,2 Thus, youth can be impacted by substance misuse in more than one way – they may be at risk for misusing substances themselves; [...]

iRT to Evaluate the Impact of Training Mentors on Youth Impacted by Substance MisuseElizabeth Porter2025-02-21T19:34:28+00:00

iRT Announces Collaboration with the Southeast Prevention Technology Transfer Center

Elizabeth Porter2025-01-28T19:45:58+00:00

January 22, 2025, Durham, NC – iRT is pleased to announce that it has begun a collaboration with the Southeast Prevention Technology Transfer Center (Southeast PTTC) to explore and advance substance misuse prevention efforts in the Southeastern United States. The Southeast PTTC, housed at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, is one of 10 regional centers that are part of the Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) Network (https://pttcnetwork.org/). The network was created to improve the implementation and delivery of evidence-based substance misuse prevention strategies across the nation. Funded by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Southeast PTTC offers [...]

iRT Announces Collaboration with the Southeast Prevention Technology Transfer CenterElizabeth Porter2025-01-28T19:45:58+00:00

Oklahoma Mentoring Programs Implement Mentoring Central’s Mentor Trainings

Elizabeth Porter2024-06-24T14:08:16+00:00

June 24, 2024, Durham, NC – iRT is excited to announce that it is collaborating with the Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) and the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth (OCCY) to implement and evaluate Mentoring Central’s training programs and mentoring resources in mentoring programs across Oklahoma. Mentoring Central, a division of iRT, is dedicated to providing mentoring programs with trainings and tools to enhance their programs and help matches achieve better outcomes. Receiving feedback from and working closely with mentoring programs across the nation that have unique goals and serve diverse subpopulations of youth is an integral part of achieving [...]

Oklahoma Mentoring Programs Implement Mentoring Central’s Mentor TrainingsElizabeth Porter2024-06-24T14:08:16+00:00

Recent Research Supporting STEM Mentoring for Traditionally Underrepresented Youth

Elizabeth Porter2024-03-27T20:59:28+00:00

March 27, 2024, Durham, NC - Recent research indicates that opportunities for students to explore their interests in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are growing. The Afterschool Alliance’s 2021 America After 3PM Special Report states that among approximately 31,000 randomly selected parents of school-aged children in the United States, 39% reported that their child’s school offered a technology- or engineering-related afterschool program in 2020. This was a significant increase compared to findings from 2014 surveys which indicated that only 30% of schools offered engineering and technology learning opportunities in afterschool programs. Science-related afterschool programs increased from 46% in 2014 to [...]

Recent Research Supporting STEM Mentoring for Traditionally Underrepresented YouthElizabeth Porter2024-03-27T20:59:28+00:00

Customize Mentoring Trainings to Reflect Your Program

Elizabeth Porter2024-03-27T20:56:32+00:00

March 27, 2024, Durham, NC - When offering training to mentors, mentees, and parents/caregivers of mentees involved your mentoring program, you likely want to be sure that the trainings you offer not only provide essential information participants need for a successful mentoring relationship but also reflect your program’s specific mission, policies, practices, and branding. Mentoring Central, a division of iRT, offers options to customize any of our mentoring training courses, so you can elevate your program participants’ training experiences and achieve your program’s goals. Mentoring Central’s team of mentoring subject matter experts, highly-skilled web applications developers, and talented multimedia and instructional [...]

Customize Mentoring Trainings to Reflect Your ProgramElizabeth Porter2024-03-27T20:56:32+00:00

iRT President Presents at the 2024 National Mentoring Summit

Elizabeth Porter2024-02-21T15:16:51+00:00

February 13, 2024, Durham, NC – iRT President Dr. Janis Kupersmidt co-led a workshop at the 14th annual National Mentoring Summit in Washington, DC, last month to discuss the need for additional training for mentors who are serving youth impacted by substance misuse. MENTOR hosts mentoring professionals and advocates from across the nation each year during the National Mentoring Summit to share best practices, reflect on recent research and developments, and discuss future directions related to mentoring. iRT’s mentoring experts have been attendees, presenters, and/or exhibitors at the Mentoring Summit every year since the first annual meeting. Continuing our support for [...]

iRT President Presents at the 2024 National Mentoring SummitElizabeth Porter2024-02-21T15:16:51+00:00

iRT to Present at the 2024 National Mentoring Summit

Elizabeth Porter2024-01-19T20:03:06+00:00

January 19, 2024, Durham, NC – iRT Research Scientists Drs. Janis Kupersmidt and Katie Stump will present at the 2024 meeting of the annual National Mentoring Summit in Washington, DC, this month. Each year, MENTOR hosts mentoring professionals and advocates from across the nation to take part in expert-led presentations and networking opportunities to share mentoring best practices and drive positive change for young people. The next National Mentoring Summit will be held January 24-26, 2024. Mentoring experts for Mentoring Central, a division of iRT, have been attendees, presenters, and exhibitors at the Mentoring Summit every year since the first annual [...]

iRT to Present at the 2024 National Mentoring SummitElizabeth Porter2024-01-19T20:03:06+00:00

iRT Welcomes New Research Intern

Elizabeth Porter2024-01-19T20:30:06+00:00

January 19, 2024, Durham, NC – iRT is pleased to welcome Abbey Collins to its team of skilled, world-renowned researchers and creative professionals. Collins joined iRT this month as a research intern to contribute to the research and development of high-quality mentor trainings on topics related to cultural competency. Collins brings a wealth of research experience in the fields of behavioral science and neuroscience to iRT, with publications in the Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine (in press), Psychology of Women Quarterly, Experimental Aging Research, and Epilepsy & Behavior. As a current doctoral student in the Department of Applied Social Psychology at North [...]

iRT Welcomes New Research InternElizabeth Porter2024-01-19T20:30:06+00:00

Addressing the Nationwide Addiction Crisis with Media Literacy Education, Mentoring, Mindfulness, and More

Elizabeth Porter2024-01-21T01:00:53+00:00

January 17, 2024, Durham, NC – The federal government and medical facilities across the United States have made substantial efforts to impede growth of the national opioid crisis, but trends in substance use have evolved in recent years making it increasingly difficult to thwart the addiction crisis. Updates on the decades-long opioid epidemic and prevention efforts have consistently made headlines as millions of Americans have faced opioid use disorders in the last three years. However, as rates of cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl use continue to climb, it is vital to spread awareness of the pervasiveness of polysubstance use, in addition to [...]

Addressing the Nationwide Addiction Crisis with Media Literacy Education, Mentoring, Mindfulness, and MoreElizabeth Porter2024-01-21T01:00:53+00:00

iRT Researcher Contributes to the Development of a Guide for Youth Seeking Mentoring Relationships

Elizabeth Porter2023-11-29T21:39:09+00:00

November 29, 2023, Durham, NC - iRT Research Scientist Dr. Rebecca Stelter joined a working group with other researchers from the National Mentoring Resource Center (NMRC) Research Board to develop a youth-informed guide for young people seeking or entering a mentoring relationship. The guide is now freely available on the NMRC website. Impactful mentoring relationships involve informed participation from both mentors and mentees, as well as support from mentoring program staff and parents. Mentees must feel equally equipped for the mentoring relationship as their mentor, be informed about their role as a mentee, and learn appropriate expectations for the mentoring relationship [...]

iRT Researcher Contributes to the Development of a Guide for Youth Seeking Mentoring RelationshipsElizabeth Porter2023-11-29T21:39:09+00:00