Project Overview
This UX project was completed as part of an Academy Xi program during the COVID-19 lockdown, focusing on improving the mentor experience for StartOut Australia — a nonprofit that connects LGBTQIA+ youth with trained role models through an online platform. Over two intensive 2-week sprints, I led user research and design to enhance engagement and connection between mentors and mentees.

Due to the anonymity of mentees, I interviewed mentors, conducted secondary research, and built empathy maps to understand pain points in the mentoring experience. Insights highlighted gaps in onboarding, lack of support tools, and inconsistent communication. These findings shaped the foundation of our design recommendations.

Solution
Working collaboratively, our team redesigned the mentor onboarding journey to improve clarity and confidence from day one. We introduced a centralized dashboard featuring guided conversation starters, check-in reminders, and mentoring activity suggestions. To support ongoing engagement, we also designed a lightweight progress tracker to help mentors navigate key milestones while maintaining flexibility.

Results
Usability testing with mentors showed a 60% improvement in onboarding task completion and strong positive sentiment around the added tools. Mentors reported feeling more confident in initiating conversations and fostering deeper connections. Our work set the stage for further enhancements and gave StartOut a scalable path to better support LGBTQIA+ youth and their mentors.