2025 Faculty Mentoring Conference
Fourth Annual Mentoring Conference
Presented by Northeast Lakeview College
April 26, 2025, from 8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
This event is FREE and accessible to all Masters (faculty), Staff, Peer Mentors, and Administrators. Our mission is to share knowledge across the Alamo Colleges District and neighboring institutions about the importance of mentoring diverse communities.
Mentoring is one of the most impactful ways to support student success, but it also requires time, energy, and emotional resilience. To effectively guide others, mentors must first ensure they are grounded, energized, and prepared for the responsibility that mentoring brings. In this keynote, Dr. Michelle Cantú-Wilson introduces The LEAD Approach, a transformative framework designed to help mentors thrive so they can fully show up for their mentees.
Using the principles of Living Your Values, Energizing Yourself, Amending Your Approach, and Daring to Declare Your Purpose, this session will explore:
● How self-awareness and values-based mentoring prevent burnout
● Why mentors must prioritize their own well-being to sustain their impact
● The power of adaptability and fresh starts in building resilient mentor-mentee relationships
● How setting boundaries and clear intentions strengthens mentoring effectiveness
By applying the LEAD Approach, mentors can fill their emotional cups, build confidence in their ability to support students, and sustain their passion for mentorship. This session is for anyone who wants to mentor with intention, authenticity, and resilience—without losing themselves in the process.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Michelle Cantu-Wilson
Dr. Cantú-Wilson is a lifelong educator, having served for 10 years as a teacher and administrator in public education and for 10 years as a professor and college leader in higher education. Michelle is now a proud member of the Board of Trustees at San Jacinto College. She is also a member of the Pasadena Health Center Board. In November 2023, Dr. Cantú-Wilson was appointed by then U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to the National Assessment Governing Board which sets policy for National Assessment of Educational Progress known as “The Nation’s Report Card.”
Michelle is the Vice President of Education and Workforce at Outreach Strategists, a strategic marketing and communications firm. In this role proudly serves the Texas Workforce Commission, the Gulf Coast Workforce Board, and other education and workforce clients.
Dr. Cantú-Wilson is the host of EdUp Emergence, a podcast that illuminates the voices of emergent higher education leaders and discusses succession planning efforts at colleges and universities. She is also a regular host and co-host of the EdUpExperience podcast, a global higher education podcast created by Dr. Joe Sallustio.
Michelle holds a Doctorate of Higher Education Leadership from the University of Houston-Clear Lake, a Masters of Education in Administration and Supervision and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Houston, and an Associate of Arts from Ranger College.
Michelle was born and raised in Brownsville, Texas. She is the oldest of 26 grandchildren on her mother’s side and was the first in her family to attend college. She is married and has three amazing children aged 19, 15, and 12. She loves to spend time at the beach, is an avid reader and writer, and is working on a practical leadership book for women, a creative nonfiction series in English and Spanish for developing adult readers, and a children’s book about children who were raised by their grandparents.