For Immediate Release: Dr. Shireen Lewis, SisterMentors Founder, to be Honored with Prestigious Living Legacy Award for her Trailblazing Work.
Washington, DC 2/6/2026 – As SisterMentors counts down to its 30th anniversary in 2027, its Founder, Dr. Shireen Lewis, will be honored by Cohort Sistas with their Living Legacy Award for her trailblazing work helping women of color to achieve their dream of higher...
SisterMentors Visits Oberlin, Experiences Student Life
This week, SisterMentors traveled to Oberlin as part of their spring break college visit program. SisterMentors is a nonprofit that supports girls of color from low-income families through mentorship from women of color who are doctoral students. The founder of...
Our Visits to Bryn Mawr College and Haverford College, March 26 – 28, 2024
Tenth Grader with President Kim Cassidy of Bryn Mawr College “It was intriguing learning how she became president and what she does now.” “It was a great experience and I would love to meet her again.” “It was very inspiring and interesting to meet and talk with her.”...
Annual College Visits 2023
Virtual College Send-off “Very Inspiring! I'm in tears of joy!,” one of our guests exclaimed. We kicked off our week of college visits, on Monday, April 3, 2023, with a packed virtual send-off teeming with excitement and energy. Over fifty donors and friends showed up...
Ms Magazine features SisterMentors
Two decades ago, Ms. magazine interviewed the founder of SisterMentors, Dr. Shireen Lewis, in its Summer 2000 issue—and here we are again, just as SisterMentors celebrates its 25th anniversary this September. Read the full article on msmagazine.com
In These Extraordinary Times:
Texas, Trauma and Our Response
The Impact “Dr. Lewis, I have not been feeling well these past couple of days,” the text said. The first thought that came to mind was Covid. “Have you tested for Covid?” I responded. “No, I have not. I have not been doing well,” the text said. I immediately picked up...
Virtual College Visits 2022 – SisterMentors
From Monday, April 11 to Friday, April 15, 2022, SisterMentors girls and young women virtually visited seven colleges and met with President Carmen Twillie Ambar of Oberlin College. During these exciting and informative visits, we heard from admissions, students of...
Black Girlhood
The Black Scholar continues to celebrate the journal's Fiftieth Anniversary with the release of its latest issue, “Black Girlhood," which highlights the significance, challenges and beauty of Black girls. There is a growing body of scholarship on the experiences of...
Letter to The Red Hat Man
Hello, how are you? I might not cross your mind one bit, but I have spent the last 24 hours not being able to get you out of my mind. First, I wanted to tell you where I was coming from. I was coming from a mosque à¢â‚¬“ the Muslim place of worship, to drop off some...
My Journey with SisterMentors
I still remember the day I discovered SisterMentors. I was 9 years old, and curiosity at that time played a significant role in my life. It was a beautiful spring day and I was spending it at my local library. I noticed a lot of commotion in the community room and...
Emilie Boone, Ph.D.
Happy 20th Anniversary to SisterMentors! You have so much to celebrate! I have so much to be grateful for because of my participation in SisterMentors. It was really the relationships in my life that got me through the dissertation. I count Dr. Lewis, and the women in...
Fanta Aw, Ph.D.
I knew Dr. Lewis and her passion for education so when I was getting ready for my dissertation Dr. Lewis and I reconnected. I was experiencing major writer's block, feeling overwhelmed, and had not made any progress on the proposal for several months. I had no...
Testimonials of College Graduates and Young Women in College
College Graduates Ruhama Yared, Goucher College "I graduated from Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland this past May with a Bachelor of Arts in Education and a minor in Mathematics. I am the first in my family to go to college. I enjoyed being at a small liberal...
Judi Moore Latta, Ph.D.
I write this statement regarding SisterMentors from the vantage point of an original member of the program and one of the second set of graduates. In 1997 when I attended the first meeting, my situation was unique. Not only was I a graduate student enrolled in a...
Randi Gray Kristensen, Ph.D.
I am delighted to write this letter on behalf of the SisterMentors Dissertation Support Groups for Women of Color ("SisterMentors"). Dr. Shireen Lewis' efforts, in founding and guiding the growth and development of an expanding circle of SisterMentors groups, reflect...
Kangbai Konaté, Ph.D.
I am extremely pleased to write this letter about my experience with SisterMentors. I am very happy to say that in May 17, 2002, I successfully defended my dissertation, thus, becoming SisterMentors' fourteenth Ph.D. I was awarded my doctorate with highest honors in...
Danielle White, Ph.D.
I joined SisterMentors soon after I began working on my dissertation in October 2002. A co-worker gave me an article about the program and I was immediately interested. What appealed to me most was the opportunity to be around other women of color who were in the...
Genevieve Abena Yirenkyi, Ph.D.
The way I found out about SisterMentors was through my oldest sister, Caroline. It was December 2001 and it had been six months since I had relocated back to Maryland, after living and schooling in California for three years. I was literally, "burnt out" in every...
Codou Diaw, Ph.D.
When I joined SisterMentors in September 2002, it was in anticipation of the dreadful isolation of dissertation writing. I was looking for a supportive environment that would allow me to complete my dissertation in a reasonable timeframe. SisterMentors filled that...
Carolyn Peoples Veiga, Ph.D.
Now that I have successfully defended the dissertation, been awarded the degree that has been framed appropriately, been affirmed as SisterMentors 20th Ph.D. with a very special celebration and have been honored by family and friends in a culminating social gathering,...