VB Book Club
The Epic Mentor Guide by Illana Raia
Imagine if The Today Show's Hoda Kotb was your mentor. Or Angela Duckworth, who introduced the concept of grit to the popular parlance. Or Air Force pilot-turned-surgeon Cholene Espinoza. How about triple-threat astronaut, chemist and physician Anna Fisher?
Or, better yet, how about all of the above—and more?
That's the premise behind our latest book rec, The Epic Mentor Guide by Illana Raia, which features 180 incredible women who are the top talents in their fields. For the next generation of movers and shakers—not to mention would-be career pivoters—it's an indispensable resource to inspire and spark passion, action and purpose. "For every girl building a bold, brave future," touts Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code and former VB Edit feature, on the cover, "this is the book you need."
But The Epic Mentor Guide is just a start. Through Être, the mentorship platform for girls Raia founded in 2016, she offers multiple channels of support—and a community—to young women who are figuring out who they want to be (hence its curious moniker, which means “to be” in French). There are school clubs, Lunch & Learns at major corporations, such as Spotify and Morgan Stanley, even Être TED-Ed. If Raia is able to anticipate what exactly these future leaders need now, it's because, well, her audience is her brain trust too—Être's board consists entirely of middle- and high school-aged girls.
The initial inspiration, in fact, stems from her own daughter. The former corporate lawyer and guest lecturer at Columbia University realized her daughter didn’t fully grasp what she did all day. She understood that her mom was accomplished, but the ins and outs of her career were somewhat of a mystery. How, then, could a girl know what “to be” as she grew into herself and her future career, if she wasn’t aware of the nuts and bolts of how to make it happen?
By connecting these girls to CEOs, surgeons, lawyers, entrepreneurs, authors, Olympians—the list goes on—Être is helping them gain confidence with each hand that’s raised and every question that’s answered. "You’re building a future," as Raia writes in the intro. "We’re building a pipeline."
Below, a few excerpts from the book, including from our own Veronica Miele Beard.
Veronica Miele Beard, left, and Illana Raia at the book party at VB Madison
