Tejal Solanki

COSTI Employment Services

Nominator Comments:

For more than 12 years, Tejal has been a Youth Mentoring Coach for COSTI Vaughan’s Employment Team. During the pandemic, she took on the additional role of Regional Coordinator of the netWORKS program, a program that works with four United Way agencies to provide networking and mentoring services to help young adults facing multiple barriers build connections that help them find meaningful career opportunities.

Over the last two years, she has created a strong team spirit between staff of all four partner agencies and worked tirelessly with them to serve and support youth as the program became fully virtual, pursuing creative solutions to engage youth and re-create in-person networking in a safe and comfortable online space where mentors can share their career journeys and youth can seek guidance. Tejal organized and hosted over 200 online networking events through the program, providing youth access to resources and opportunities so desperately needed. Behind the scenes, she worked tirelessly to ensure that all networking participants were engaged and had the best possible experience.

Tejal’s commitment, creativity, and passion for genuinely making a difference in the lives of young adults by taking them under her wing and guiding them has inspired youth alumni to return as program mentors to empower their peers.