Lead the next generation of Black fathers.
You have walked the road — through struggle, growth, and hard-won wisdom. Now the Academy equips you to guide the next generation with purpose, skill, and the full weight of everything you have already lived.
About the program
What is Mentor Training?
Mentor Training is a 16-week certification program for Black fathers who are ready to give back. Over the course of the program, you will master the Academy's mentorship framework — a culturally grounded, evidence-based model built specifically for the realities Black fathers face. You will develop the skills to lead one-on-one mentorship relationships, facilitate peer group sessions and brotherhood circles, and serve as a pillar of the Academy community. The program is delivered in a cohort format, so you are learning alongside other experienced fathers who are making the same commitment. You will be challenged, supported, and equipped — and when you earn your certification, you will be matched with fathers in the core programs who need exactly what you have already lived through.
Duration
16 weeks
Format
Cohort-based
Time commitment
4–6 hrs/week
What you will learn
The Mentor Training curriculum
The Mentor Identity
Understand what it means to be a mentor in the Academy model — not a counselor, not a boss, but a brother who has walked further down the road. Examine your own story, your wounds, and your wisdom as the foundation of your mentorship.
The Academy Framework
Master the five core frameworks the Academy uses across all programs — identity, legacy, brotherhood, sovereignty, and redemption. Learn how to apply each framework in one-on-one and group settings.
Listening and Presence
Develop the deep listening skills that separate a good mentor from a great one. Learn how to hold space for a father's pain, anger, and confusion without fixing, judging, or projecting.
Facilitating Brotherhood Circles
Learn the structure, rhythm, and culture of the Academy's peer group model. Practice facilitating sessions, managing group dynamics, and creating the psychological safety that allows men to be honest.
Crisis Navigation
Understand how to recognize and respond when a father you are mentoring is in crisis — whether that means domestic conflict, mental health challenges, legal trouble, or suicidal ideation. Know your role, your limits, and your resources.
Accountability and Follow-Through
Learn the Academy's accountability model — how to set expectations, track progress, and hold a father to his commitments with love and firmness. Accountability is not punishment. It is the highest form of respect.
Who it's for
Built for fathers who are ready to lead
Experienced fathers
Fathers who have navigated the real challenges of Black fatherhood — co-parenting, incarceration, absence, poverty, identity — and have come out with wisdom they are ready to share with younger dads who are still in the middle of it.
Community leaders
Men already serving in their communities — as coaches, deacons, mentors, or informal big brothers — who want a structured, proven framework to deepen and multiply their impact.
Academy graduates
Fathers who completed the Young Fathers or Fathers 24 and Over program and are ready to step into a leadership role within the brotherhood — giving back what was given to them.
What you'll gain
What mentors walk away with
Ready to lead?
Applications for the next Mentor Training cohort are open. Join a brotherhood of fathers committed to lifting the next generation — and to going deeper in their own journey in the process.