FASEB LEAD

Learn Across Differences. Lead with Perspective.

FASEB LEAD (Leadership Engagement and Appreciation of Differences), a component of FASEB’s Workforce program, is a bidirectional mentoring program that connects professionals with different experiences, perspectives, interests, and areas of expertise.

Each participant enters the partnership with knowledge to share and opportunities to learn. Through structured conversations, participants exchange perspectives, explore professional and leadership challenges, and learn from someone whose experiences or viewpoints differ from their own.

LEAD partnerships are not defined by age, title, position, or career stage. Participants are matched based on their learning goals, interests, experiences, and the perspectives they can offer one another.

Apply to FASEB LEAD

About LEAD

LEAD creates opportunities for professionals across the FASEB community to learn from differences in professional experiences, roles, organizations, disciplines, backgrounds, and perspectives.

Participants engage in open and respectful conversations that can broaden their understanding, strengthen their leadership skills, and inform their approach to decisions and challenges within their organizations and the biological and biomedical research community.

Both participants contribute to the mentoring partnership. Depending on the topic, one participant may offer guidance or insight during one conversation and receive it during another.

Who Can Participate?

Applicants must meet at least one of the following eligibility requirements:

Be a member in good standing of one or more FASEB full member societies
Be employed by FASEB or a FASEB full member society

Visit the FASEB Member Societies webpage to review the current list of full member societies.

LEAD welcomes participants across career stages, professional roles, organizations, disciplines, and backgrounds. There is no single profile for a LEAD participant, and applicants are not assigned fixed mentor or mentee roles.

Program Commitment

Participants commit to a 12-month mentoring partnership from December 2026 through November 2027.

Participants are expected to:

Attend the LEAD orientation
Complete a partnership agreement
Meet with their mentoring partner approximately once each month
Establish shared goals and expectations for the partnership
Engage openly and respectfully in bidirectional learning
Maintain the confidentiality of mentoring conversations
Participate in quarterly cohort engagement opportunities
Complete program assessments and provide feedback

Key Program Dates

Application Deadline: September 28, 2026
Participant Matching: October 2026
Orientation and Program Launch: November 2026
Mentoring Partnership: December 2026-November 2027

Apply to LEAD

The application takes approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. Applicants will be asked about their professional experiences, interests, learning goals, availability, and the knowledge and perspectives they hope to contribute to a mentoring partnership.

Applications must be submitted by September 28, 2026.

Apply Now

Attend a Virtual Information Session

Interested applicants are invited to attend a virtual information session to learn more about LEAD’s bidirectional mentoring approach, eligibility requirements, application process, program expectations, and matching process. Each session will include time for questions.

September 3, 2026, at 12 pm ET

September 16, 2026, at 4:30 pm ET