District selects mentoring coordinator
By Kim Matthews

Kelli Johnson

Lt. Col. Glen Reed, deputy commander for the district, informed her that she was selected by the Command Council to be the mentoring program coordinator on Oct. 20, but it wasn't officially announced to the district until Nov. 10.

The selection process started when an e-mail went out to district employees announcing the Regional Mentoring Program and soliciting volunteers to be the District Coordinator.

“I talked to Gretchen Wotherspoon and my supervisor, Brian Moore, then I submitted my name,” Johnson said. “The list of volunteers was then sent to the Command Council and they selected.”

Johnson said being selected as the District mentoring coordinator is a great honor.

“I am very excited to be coordinating this effort,” she said. “It is a passion of mine, because it is an area that is important for individual growth, benefiting both mentor and mentee, as well as the district. It is also a great feeling to start from the beginning.”

Although Johnson said she has no expertise or official training in mentoring, her experience in dealing with mentors has inspired her.

“I have been informally mentored by a couple of individuals. They have provided me a wealth of knowledge; suggestions and guidance that has helped guide both my career and personal growth,” she said.

Johnson does not mentor outside the district, but she did mentor a district team member while he went through the Tier III Regional Leadership Development Program, LDP.

Mentoring is an area Johnson strongly feels benefits individuals and is a program she feels has been under-utilized in the district.

 “The Los Angeles District currently has pockets of mentoring programs, such as LDP, planning, or even informal individual mentoring relationships, scattered throughout the district,” she said, “but we had no organized process that someone can go to if they wanted to volunteer to be a mentor or is looking for a mentor.”

Johnson said the benefit of being a mentoring program coordinator is to be the local point of contact to receive and match applications of the mentor or mentee, not only within the district but possibly outside it as well. She will also be providing resources, information, and suggested ideas regarding mentoring.

“With a large percentage of our district population eligible, or close, to retire, it is important to tap into these valuable assets,” Johnson said. “The majority of these individuals probably benefited from a mentor at one time or another. It would give them an opportunity to give back or pay it forward and have others benefit from their experiences.”

Johnson has been with the district for 26 years - starting in 1982 in Engineering Division, then 19 years in Resource Management, and the past five years in Programs and Project Management Division, PPMD, where she currently serves as Programs and Project Controls Branch chief.