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February Community Coffee Hour
Grab your coffee or tea, and join your mentoring program peers and MENTOR Virginia on Wednesday, February 14th from 9:00 – 10:00 am for Community Coffee Hour. We’ll be having a discussion on ways mentoring programs can partner with local law enforcement.
MENTOR Virginia will virtually host Community Coffee Hour every 2nd Wednesday of the month with mentoring program staff to create space for peer-to-peer learning and resource sharing, and to address issues you and your organization might be facing during the pandemic and beyond. We hope to see you at an upcoming Community Coffee Hour!
Meet Our Guest Speakers:
Larry E. “Rev Mentor” Thomas is the Founder, Visionary and CEO at The Thomas Mentor Leadership Academy in Durham, North Carolina. Their mission is to LOVE, lead, guide and mentor males between the ages of 9 and 18 who are being raised by a single parent, single legal guardian or their grandparent(s). By receiving so much from so many, Larry has dedicated his life to reaching back and giving forward. He has been mentoring young men for over 30 years. Larry is a nationally-recognized leader and advocate for mentoring African-American males.
Larry is a U.S. Army Combat Veteran. He retired from the United States Army in May 2011 as a First Sergeant with 26 years of honorable service to this great country. His last active-duty assignment was as the Senior Military Instructor at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill- Reserve Officer Training Corp (ROTC) where he trained, mentored and developed future officers to serve as leaders in the United States Army. Larry was awarded numerous awards and decorations during his honorable military career, including the Bronze Star Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Medal, the Expert Infantryman’s Badge, and the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal. Larry is a graduate of several Military Leadership Schools, Apex School of Theology and Andersonville Theological Seminary. He’s also a graduate of the Duke University Nonprofit Management Course. Larry is a proud member of THE Mu Beta Phi Military Fraternity Incorporated. Larry has been married to his lovely wife Lisa for 32 years. They have two beautiful daughters, son in law and two awesome grandkids.
GiTonya Parker is currently the Grants Coordinator with the City of Richmond Budget and Strategic Planning. She has 19 years of federal grant writing and management experience and 28 years of grant coordination experience. GiTonya has been involved in mentoring program development for the past 27 years and has served as a technical and training assistant over that time. Her dedication to mentoring has been honored through the Helping Hand Volunteer Award and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Youth Summit Facilitator/Coordinator Award. GiTonya graduated from Virginia State University with a B.S. in Psychology. She has an M. Ed. in Counselor Education and is a doctoral student in Organizational Leadership at Grand Canyon University.
In addition to her role as Grant Coordinator, she serves as an educator at VCU, VUU, and UR teaching Leadership Development for Women of Color and Grant Writing and Management. She combines her role as an educator and mentor by serving Partnership for the Future and the MLK, Jr. Youth Summit. She also serves as a board member for MENTOR Virginia. Outside of her role as mentor and educator, GiTonya is engaged with a variety of organizations, including Highland Springs High School Football Organization, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, and Faith Community Baptist Church.