Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Launches Mentor/Protégé Program

As part of an ongoing commitment to supplier diversity, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) recently launched the inaugural class of the CHOP Mentor/Protégé program.

Through this program, diverse businesses that are Black and Brown owned, women owned, LGBTQIA+-owned, veteran/disabled owned, small-owned and HUD Zone-owned will be paired with an executive at CHOP.  The purpose of the relationship is for personal and professional growth only. Our goal is to lend objective feedback and mutual learning will result from these connections between Mentor and Protégé.

“Through the Mentor/Protégé program, proteges can get valuable business development help from their mentors in several important areas, from strategic planning and business development to accounting and marketing,” said Joni Rittler, VP of Supply Chain at CHOP. “At the same time, our executives at CHOP will also gain valuable new insights, including a better understanding of the challenges protégés face in the current business climate and exposure to new and different perspectives.”

“Our vendors help fuel our mission so it’s important that we build trusting relationships with them and learn from one another,” said Peter Grollman, senior vice President External Affairs at CHOP. “We’re successful when we grow together.”

“Our Mentor/Protégé program will help to strengthen our connection to vendors and our communities in which we support and serve, Organizations that show commitment to their local and diverse vendors gain a reputation as a desirable vendor partner and an employer of choice,” said Marcia Wallace, Supplier Diversity Program Manager at CHOP.

The inaugural class of protégés comprise of six diverse firms from Philadelphia and surrounding areas, contribute to economic growth in the region. These six business leaders will be paired with CHOP executives from External Affairs, Public Relations/Marketing, Supply Chain, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Operations and Legal.

During the mentor and protégé meeting, both mentor and protégé will get to know one another’s personal and profession backgrounds, establish regular meeting schedules, and goals of this relationship. The CHOP Mentor Protégé is 15-month program with quarterly meetings.

Feedback will be solicited quarterly, and the program will continue to grow and expand. “Our hope is the relationships will continue after completion of the program,” added Rittler.