HOW EVERYTHING STARTED…
The LINK mentoring initiative offering early-career women one-to-one mentoring opportunities to develop female talent was born at the 10th Annual CSR Summit held in Dubai, UAE. The original co-founders had one month to develop a whole business plan to pitch their venture to an audience and jury of CSR, corporate and nonprofit practitioners.
The LINK successfully rose above the other teams to win the most promising social initiative award. The prize included a trip to London to meet with leading mentoring foundations and strategy consultancies to help The LINK kick off the project. The initial founders and team of The LINK were: Linda, Tarun, Rabya, and Amel.
LINKING SINCE 2013!
In October 2013, The LINK successfully launched its first mentoring cohort with a diverse group of women. After receiving positive feedback from both mentees and mentors, The LINK increased its efforts by launching annual mentoring groups and hosting regular LINK gatherings for its community.
The LINK was created initially through a joint initiative between Sustain Leadership and Linda Merieau to help women advance professionally in the UAE. In 2019 the ameliorate group joined the force, with Simone Lawrence and Melissa L. Schlimm taking the lead and expanding The Link into a global community, onboarding mentors of any gender, and moving the program online.
