Meet the Founder
The vision and leadership behind We Are Youth Mentors.
Elaine Isadora Thomas
Founder, We Are Youth Mentors | Formerly Founder and CEO, The Mentoring Lab
Elaine Isadora Thomas is one of the UK's most respected voices in youth mentoring, youth leadership, and professional development. With over 20 years of experience working with young people, mentors, organisations, and communities, she has dedicated her career to ensuring that mentoring is done well — everywhere, for everyone.
Elaine holds a BSc in Social Research and Caribbean Studies and has worked across the youth, education, social care, criminal justice, and voluntary sectors. She has trained and supported hundreds of youth mentors, delivered programmes for Fortune 500 companies and grassroots community organisations, and consulted with some of the most respected institutions in the UK sector.
As Founder and CEO of The Mentoring Lab, Elaine developed the evidence-based Mentoring Toolkit — now one of the most comprehensive practical resources available for youth mentoring practitioners. Endorsed by Barnardo's, Compass Wellbeing, Hackney Community Voluntary Service, and many others, the toolkit has been used with thousands of young people across the UK.
In 2025 Elaine founded We Are Youth Mentors — taking everything built through The Mentoring Lab and evolving it into a global platform. Her vision is simple: every youth mentor in the world should have access to the tools, training, recognition, and community they need to do transformative work with young people.
Elaine is also the founder of the Association of Youth Mentors in the UK and is a sought-after speaker, consultant, executive coach, and mentor to emerging leaders in her community.
When she is not building the platform, Elaine enjoys geopolitics, Islamic history, hiking mountains, documentary making, and mentoring the next generation of leaders.
Our Values
Young people first — everything we build serves the young people our members serve
Evidence over opinion — all our tools are rooted in research and real practice
Inclusion and equity — built with the global majority in mind
Professional recognition — mentors deserve to be seen as the professionals they are
Community over competition — we grow together
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