Join the opal community 👋

We’re happy you’re here

We're so glad you're here. Whether you're looking for a mentor, want to be one, or just want to grow alongside other humans who care about the same things — this is your place.

Join the Community

What the community is

Opal's community lives in Slack — a space for mentors, mentees, and everyone in between to connect, learn, and grow together.

At its heart, it's a monthly mentorship matching program. Every month, we'll check in and ask if you'd like to be matched. If you're in, we pair you with someone and you spend the month working toward one goal together. That's it. Low-lift, high-impact, genuinely human.

On top of that, community members get first access to any Opal-hosted Spark Sessions and GEM Programs — and if your profile aligns with what a program coordinator is looking for, we may reach out directly.

The Community Perks

  • If you’re part of our community, you get access to our Slack workspace where we share information about upcoming mentorship programs, resources, workshops, and job opportunities.

    For mentors/experts, the Slack Community is a space for you to share your knowledge and recommendations to a community that would love to hear from you.

  • Our 4-week, virtual GEM Programs are a structured way to achieve 1 goal with a mentee or mentor. Our community members have priority access to apply to any GEM Program opportunities!

    The directions to apply to our GEM Programs are provided within the Slack Community.

  • One of our channels is dedicated to spot mentorship, which is typically a 1-time meeting between a mentee and mentor to have a discussion similar to a coffee chat.

    We’ll guide you (whether you’re a mentee or mentor) on how to go about a successful spot mentorship meeting.

  • One of our channels is completely dedicated to peer mentorship. We believe that creating a connection with someone on a similar path to you is a powerful way to learn. We’ll provided resources for how to go about a successful peer mentorship.

  • Our community members have first-dibs on all professional development resources that we create or are provided by other creators or companies.

    These career development opportunities include work sessions, workshops, networking opportunities, and events.

Let's shine brighter together

🤩

Join our Opal Community

✨

Let's shine brighter together 🤩 Join our Opal Community ✨

Who can join the community?

The short answer: everyone interested in growing professionally, as a guide, or someone who could use some guidance.

For Mentors

Thank you for being here! Our Opal world goes round thanks to your generosity, knowledge, and experiences. We consider mentors anyone who has started their career and feels comfortable guiding others. You do NOT need to be a mid- or senior-level professional to be a mentor.

Here are some perks and opportunities for mentors within our community:

  • Events, workshops, and networking—if you’re interested, all of our events, workshops, and networking opportunities are open to everyone, not just mentees.

  • GEM Programs—get first dibs to sign up as a mentor for our 4-week GEM Programs, where you’ll be expertly matched with a mentee and will work to achieve one goal together during the program.

  • Super Mentors—we have role-specific channels (Design, SWE, Product, etc.) and need experts to help answer questions and provide resources. This is a great way to be a mentor to a lot of people at once!

  • Spot Mentorship—join our Mentor Directory (available only to Community Members) to connect with mentees interested in spot mentorship (a 1-time meeting / coffee chat)

  • Peer Mentorship—you also have the option to join our #peer-mentorship channel to find a friend!

  • Share your stories & ideas with us on the Shine a Light On podcast

For Mentees

Thank you for being here! As humans, we could all use a little guidance, and we’re thrilled you’d consider us as part of your professional development journey. Mentees are anyone looking for guidance or a career change. You can be a student or already in your career.

Here are some perks and opportunities for mentees within our community:

  • Events, workshops, and networking—we’ll be hosting a lot of workshops and events. We also take requests for anything new that you’d like to learn!

  • GEM Programs—get first dibs to sign up as a mentee for our 4-week GEM Programs, where you’ll be expertly matched with a mentor and will work to achieve one goal together during the program.

  • Forum channels—we have a variety of channels you can join to ask questions, meet new people, and learn.

  • Spot Mentorship—explore our Mentor Directory (available only to Community Members) to connect with mentors for spot mentorship (a 1-time meeting / coffee chat)

  • Peer Mentorship—you also have the option to join our #peer-mentorship channel to find a friend!

  • Resume Booklet—add your resume to our booklet shared with company partners.

  • Share your stories & ideas with us on the Shine a Light On podcast

Mariah Manzano, Co-founder & CEO

“We started Opal because we believe mentorship changes lives — and that access to it shouldn't depend on who you already know. This community is our way of making that real. Whether you're here for one month or long-term, we’re honored you’re here.”

Opal Community Application

At Opal, we’re fans of creating genuine connections between humans. Our community (hosted through Slack) serves as a space for us all to connect, learn, and grow together. No matter which industry, job title, or company you’re interested in, everyone deserves connection and accessibility to professional growth resources. Thanks for being here.