ASRS's Empowerment and Opportunity Mentorship Program: Mentor Application 2026
The ASRS Empowerment and Opportunity Section invites you to complete the following application to become a mentor for an exciting and innovative mentorship program. We are looking for interested and committed mentors of ALL race, ethnicities, sexual orientations and genders to apply. Mentors must be ASRS members (either fellows-in-training or retina specialists).
The main goals of the Empowerment and Opportunity Section are to increase the representation and amplify the voices of Underrepresented in Medicine (URiMs) within the field of retina.
Based on The Association of American Medical Colleges URiM definition, the ASRS Empowerment and Opportunity Section defines URiM as “Those populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population. This includes Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, Southeast Asians (for example Cambodian, Laotian, Vietnamese, Hmong, Filipino) and individuals who identify as LGBTQIA+.”
The program offers two tracks. The Family Track centers around the concept of “family” with participating members at various career stages being assigned to mentorship families. Through a series of five professional-led, shared leadership experiences, these families of mentors and mentees cultivate valuable long-term professional relationships that allow for the sharing of insights, experiences and information as a means of helping mentees reach their goal of becoming retina specialists. The dates of the sessions will be released at the beginning of the program. Three will take place exclusively over Zoom, one will take place at the ASRS Annual Meeting in Montreal (and Zoom), and one at the AAO Annual Meeting in New Orleans (and Zoom).
The Traditional Track is designed to provide the more typical one-on-one mentorship experience. The mentors and mentees in the track are also welcome to attend the five sessions, or for the participants to watch the recorded sessions and discuss after the sessions conclude.
If you have any questions about this program or experience any technical issues in submitting your application, please contact Joshua.Friedman@asrs.org.
Please note that the application deadline is Sunday, February 22 at 11:59pm CT.