APB Mentorship Experience
Build on your skillset!
Become a mentor or a mentee.
The APB has launched its new and improved Mentorship Experience. This program is designed to help APB members progress in their careers, no matter their stage in career development. The program is designed to assist up-and-coming biologists acquire skills essential to future employment and career opportunities while completing or transitioning out of their education. The APB Mentorship Program is also designed to support and assist biology professionals well into their careers who are looking for assistance with any manner of career development, including leadership, human resources, a specific technical issue, and more.
The APB Mentorship Experience has received strong support from the College of Applied Biologists as it provides College members with additional opportunities to maintain and improve their competencies and assists them in meeting their professional obligations.
Become a Mentee
⏺️ Set work expectations that fit your availability.
⏺️ Choose a mentor you already know (any kind of professional or PhD) or we will assist and facilitate with pairing.
⏺️ Work remotely or in person on your mentor’s projects.
⏺️ Receive regular feedback and support on your work to help you grow.
⏺️ Improve on your communication and technical skills.
⏺️ Network with senior biologists in your field.
Become a Mentor
⏺️ Strengthen your coaching and leadership skills.
⏺️ Help support the next generation of biologists in becoming skilled and competent professionals.
⏺️ Get recognition and acknowledgement through the APB’s Home page, APB’s publications and Social Networks.
⏺️ Develop and retain talent in your organization.
⏺️ Learn mentoring techniques and theory.
The APB Vision
The APB vision for the APB Mentorship Program is to provide a forum and the resources to assist biology professionals in their career and personal development. The Mentorship Experience will provide assistance for both mentors and mentees. This is an opportunity for our members to receive training and to share knowledge so that up-and-coming professionals as well as established biologists moving along in their careers can be better prepared to address the important biological issues of our time.
Critical issues are affecting our provincial legacy of natural resources for the coming generations and it is our responsibility as professional stewards to find effective means of addressing the problems we face collectively. Problems include climate change, new economic pressures, and biodiversity loss. These issues intersect our professional careers as we work with Indigenous Peoples, industry, governmental policies, and the public at large. We work to foster an environment where members can develop their professional skills and expertise and to become leaders in resource management.
We invite you to sign up as a mentor or join us as a mentee to become part of a larger learning community. This is an opportunity to learn how to work within the profession as we mitigate and adapt to the many complex issues of our time.
Anyone who is a member of the APB may become a mentee (Become a Member). NOTE: student membership fees are currently waived while a student and for one year following graduation.
Mentors must also be members of the APB. If you are not a regular member, but have experience to share, feel free to apply as an “Associate Member”. Anyone can become a mentor if they are a professional within the APB, a professional with another applicable scientific organization (e.g., RPF, PEng) with experience, of if they have sufficient credentials (e.g., PhD or MSc with experience).
Mentorship Program Application
After completing the registration form, please send it to us at mentorship@professionalbiology.com
Once we receive your completed registration form, we will follow up with additional materials to get your program started.
Mentorship Pairing Highlight
“Since 2023, I have participated in the mentorship program through the Association of Professional Biology as a mentee under eelgrass specialist Cynthia Durance. Our mentorship has been centered on the eelgrass restoration work at Mill Pond in Campbell River, where Cynthia has provided technical oversight and guidance as I developed planting plans, monitoring protocols, and effectiveness reporting for the project.
Beyond technical mentorship, Cynthia has actively helped expand my professional network and opportunities within the field. Through her support, I presented at the 2024 Pacific Salmon Foundation Eelgrass Symposium — including leading a field trip component — and was introduced to many practitioners working in coastal restoration. These experiences have been invaluable in building professional connections and confidence as an early-career biologist (in training).
I became Executive Director of Greenways Land Trust at age 29, and the mentorship program provided a unique opportunity to learn from an experienced professional in a way that complemented my leadership role. As someone working within a charitable organization rather than a traditional consulting environment, access to structured professional mentorship has been especially valuable, since opportunities to gain supervised experience toward professional designation can be harder to find.
Cynthia’s mentorship has also supported my broader professional development, including providing a letter of recommendation for my graduate studies at Royal Roads University. I am now preparing to submit my effectiveness monitoring paper as part of my application to move from Biologist-in-Training to Registered Professional Biologist with the College of Applied Biologists.
The mentorship program has been instrumental in helping me grow as a practitioner, expand my professional network, and move toward professional designation. I am very thankful to Cynthia for her patience, expertise, and insight. Her mentorship has truly changed my life.”
– Katie Lavoie, Current Mentee
Katie Lavoie, Mentee
Executive Director @ Greenways Land Trust
Cynthia Durance, Mentor
Principal @ Precision Identification
Video Series on Mentorship
Become a Sponsor
Become a sponsor of the APB Mentorship Program!
Take the next step in championing career development for novice professional biologists. Please contact the APB office for more information on how to become a sponsor.
For more information please contact: