Backup — Coaching With Tanya

TRANSFORM

YOUR

APPROACH

TO

MENTORING

Certified Coach Offering Solutions for Leadership Growth

I help research mentors turn the most draining parts of mentoring into something that actually energizes you and unlocks breakthrough thinking in your mentees.

Tired of feeling like you have to do all the creative thinking?

Here’s what I know: Most of us were never taught how to mentor effectively. We wing it, get frustrated when our guidance doesn’t land, and end up doing most of the creative work ourselves, while our mentees wait for our next insight.

I’ve been there. I used to find mentoring completely draining. I felt like I had to come up with every creative idea, solve every problem, and do all the thinking, while my mentees waited for my insights. I was giving from an empty cup and felt exhausted after every mentoring session. Then I invested over 1,000 hours learning what actually works, and everything changed.

My mentees have achieved remarkable success (80+ accomplishments, including grants from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, tenure-track faculty positions, and multiple competitive awards from foundations). I’ve won the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Landis Award for Outstanding Mentorship and the Carolina Women’s Leadership Council Faculty Mentoring Award, and most importantly: I genuinely enjoy guiding others through their development process.

Work With Me

Here's how I can help

One-on-One Mentoring Transformation Coaching

Work directly with me to transform your approach

We'll dig into what's really draining you about mentoring and develop your personalized system for guiding others. Together, we'll:

Figure out why your current approach isn't working and what to do instead
Develop your authentic mentoring style—one that energizes rather than exhausts you
Practice approaches that spark independent thinking without you doing all the work
Address the specific challenges you're facing with your current mentees
Create sustainable practices that make mentoring actually enjoyable

Mentoring Scientific Writers

Master the art of teaching academic writing

Work Academic writing is the currency of our field , but most mentors struggle to teach it effectively. My comprehensive guide gives you everything you need: stage-based approaches that prevent overwhelm, formulas for giving specific feedback that actually gets heard , and strategies for creating conditions such that your mentees can become independent, confident writers.

This program includes the complete framework, practical tools, and step-by-step processes for transforming the most challenging aspect of academic mentoring.

Team & Department Mentoring Transformation

Custom programs for organizations ready to change their culture

Workshops and intensives that teach your entire group how to mentor effectively. These programs create shared language and approaches that reduce frustration and multiply results across your organization. Available for departments, research groups, or leadership teams.