NEW YORK — The Women’s Jewelry Association (WJA) and Mentoro have launched a Jewelry & Watches mentorship cohort, kicking off with an event March 26 at the New York headquarters of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
The evening brought together mentors and mentees spanning design, buying, merchandising, finance, marketing, e-commerce and supply chain. Opening remarks were delivered by Sandra Abi-Rashed, founder of Mentoro, and Gabrielle Grazi, president of WJA. The event concluded with a live mentor-mentee reveal, with pairings announced to participants in real time.
“Mentorship creates the moments that change trajectories,” said Abi-Rashed. “At Mentoro, our focus is on the human experience — ensuring every participant feels seen, supported, and connected throughout the journey.”
“The response from the community has been clear: this is mentorship that works,” said Grazi. “And in an industry navigating change, we are not just building a program — we are building a pipeline of future leaders.”
Remarks from Tanner Burns, executive vice president Northeast at Gallagher, and Luis Spencer Freitas, senior director of digital route to consumer and marketing at Moët Hennessy, addressed the legacy of women in leadership. A panel discussion moderated by Cate Luzio, founder and CEO of Luminary, featured David McMillan, creative director at Penman for Hire; Esther Fortunoff-Greene, president of EFG Design; Jill Katz, chief people officer and founder of Assemble; and Abby Wallach, CEO of The House of Scentivent Technologies.
The cohort program will include workshops led by Michelle Carter of Mastercard, Gaelle Devins of Breitling and learning and development expert Tisha Clark, along with three dedicated one-on-one mentor-mentee sessions.
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For more information about WJA, visit womensjewelryassociation.com.
To view the mentor list, visit mentoro.co/jewelrywatchesny26.
