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Rear: Anne, Deirdre, Zorka, Joyanne, Annie, Gloria, Annette, Makini, Christine

Seated: Vonzell, Laurette, Talia, Nilsa, Beverly Irby (Discussant, 2014, AERA).

Initial members of the Women’s Global Mentoring Network crossed path in 2010 at AERA first while attending a symposium session on mentoring among women faculty. Later, while passing in the halls of AERA, where much networking occurs the initial members decided to collaborate as representatives from two groups, the Caribbean Educators’ Research Initiative (or Curve) and (y = Spanish) Female Researchers in Education Networking and Discoursing (or Friends). The informal mentoring network they established in 2010 has expanded (y = and other participants) is now composed of approximately 20 members from countries such as Trinidad, Egypt, Australia, Canada, England, and the United States and we call ourselves CURVE y FRiENDS (C-y-F). In 2011 the network expanded and in 2012 we decided to test to hopefully strengthen the network by reconfiguring the groups based on collegiality and/or proximity mentoring circles based on themes or research interests. The challenge was to see if the ease with which we had collaborated was simply due to having a shared gendered positionality in the academy as women. If so, then the challenges of working with some new colleagues primarily via technology, from different cultural backgrounds and milieus, and in various disciplines would be overcome and the reward would be the development of stronger ties across the network. Although the reconfiguration seemed uneventful on the surface, the 2013 AERA symposium we hosted spurred a discussion about possibly expanding the network and debate ensued about its membership, purpose, and management. At AERA 2014 we considered the tensions that had arisen so that we might learn from them, but more specifically how we work through them, or are planning to do so. In 2015 we are focusing on strengthening ties, developing our network, leading, and of course mentoring.

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