How VelocityEHS’ Game Changers Program Supports Career Growth
Senior Training Program Manager Devin Johnson has experienced the power of leadership development at VelocityEHS firsthand. Earlier in her career journey at the AI-powered environmental health and safety software company, she decided she wanted to better understand what it takes to be a leader — and that’s when she discovered Game Changers.
What Does VelocityEHS Do?
VelocityEHS' software helps organizations reach their environmental, health and safety goals, offering AI-driven capabilities related to chemical inventory management, contractor safety and permitting, environmental compliance and more.
Game Changers is VelocityEHS' nine-month internal leadership development program, which connects employees with leaders outside of their day-to-day work. For Johnson, the program provided space to ask questions about her career, leadership styles and how to approach cross-functional work with confidence.
“What made it meaningful was that the conversations were not surface-level,” Johnson said. “They helped me connect the work I was already doing to the leader I was becoming.”
According to Senior Director of Talent and Culture Molly Whybrow, the Game Changers program identifies talent and nurtures it across the company.
What Is VelocityEHS’ Game Changers Program?
Game Changers is VelocityEHS’ nine-month internal leadership development program that connects employees with leaders outside their day-to-day work. The program is designed to provide employees with intentional, personal and practical development support.
“The goal was to strengthen our leadership pipeline, create more visibility for emerging talent, demonstrate executive commitment to employee growth, and provide meaningful development support to employees who may not always have the same access to senior leaders or informal career networks,” Whybrow said.
The program, which pairs employees with a member of the executive team to serve as a mentor, was designed to be intentional, personal and valuable for everyone involved. Since its inception five years ago, it has become a catalyst for employees leveling up their careers while also fulfilling mentors passionate about supporting emerging talent.
How Mentors and Mentees Benefit From VelocityEHS’ Game Changers Program
VelocityEHS' Game Changers program is an impactful experience for everyone involved, including mentors like Daryl Oldham, associate vice president of product marketing.
Oldham was Johnson’s mentor throughout the program, guiding her through professional challenges while providing a different perspective.
“Devin made my job easy, as she was intuitive and came to our conversations with an agenda,” Oldham said. “My role was to listen, understand what she wanted out of each topic, and ask questions that invoked deeper thought on the ‘why’ and on the impacts of potential actions and approaches she could take to each situation.”
Despite having different career paths at VelocityEHS, Oldham and Johnson found common ground as individuals eager to excel in their respective jobs — though Oldham tried not to let his own experiences prevent him from understanding Johnson’s as unique. Oldham said he found active listening to be the most important aspect of their relationship.
“It is so easy to say, ‘In my experience,’ and try to give the mentee a playbook of exactly how to do things,” Oldham said. “A great mentor helps the mentee think through situations and sets them on a path that is their own.”
Oldham and Johnson have kept in touch since their formal mentorship ended last year, checking in every so often to discuss workplace challenges, yet Johnson still shows up to every conversation with real situations she’s facing rather than general career questions.
“I try to bring specific challenges I am navigating, whether it is a cross-functional project, a communication decision, a moment where I need to build alignment or a place where I am trying to grow as a leader,” Johnson said.
These conversations are both practical and deeply human, allowing both Johnson and Oldham to talk through the reality of leading through change, managing competing priorities and learning how to show up even when there isn’t a perfect answer.
“That balance makes the mentorship feel less transactional and more like a space for honest growth,” Johnson said. “Over time, that consistency has helped me build stronger judgment, communicate with more intention and feel more supported as I continue growing in my career.”
How VelocityEHS' Game Changers Program Helps Employees Thrive Day to Day
VelocityEHS’ Game Changers program is designed to help employees thrive long-term in their day-to-day roles.
During the program, Oldham helped Johnson navigate various professional hurdles, including the release of one of the company’s most advanced platforms. Johnson said that the release changed how she thought about her role, as it required her to help internal teams understand what was changing and decide what customers needed to know. Meanwhile, Oldham was navigating the release from a marketing perspective, focusing on communicating the platform’s value to customers.
For Johnson, working through similar challenges in real time was meaningful, as it enabled her to see how her mentor responded to ambiguity, aligned stakeholders, communicated through change and applied the same advice that he often shared with her.
“We were not just talking about leadership in theory,” Johnson said. “We were connecting around a shared business challenge and discussing how similar practices could show up differently in our roles.”
Oldham said watching Johnson bring her own perspective to these challenges while also leaning on some of the ideas they’d discussed in the past as “one of the most fulfilling moments” of his career.
Advice for Starting a Successful Mentorship
Starting a successful mentorship is all in the approach. Whybrow said that her biggest piece of advice is to be intentional about what you wish to get out of a mentorship. “Be specific about what you are hoping to learn and be respectful of the person’s time,” Whybrow said. “Clear expectations and boundaries make the relationship easier for both people to say ‘yes’ to and sustain.”
Oldham echoed this, adding that it’s equally important for both mentors and mentees to find someone who they’re comfortable being vulnerable and honest with. “Mentorships do not work if you’re guarded,” Oldham said. “Mentees and mentors need to be able to admit what they don’t know, while committing to learning together.”
Honesty is also essential to a successful mentorship — and follow-through. “Mentorship becomes successful when you are willing to share what you are navigating, apply the feedback you receive and come back with more insight,” Johnson said. “It is not just about receiving advice; it is about building a relationship where reflection turns into action.”
What Makes VelocityEHS’ Game Changers Program Successful
VelocityEHS' Game Changer Program has been a professional milestone for both mentors and mentees — and the statistics prove it.
Annual employee feedback reveals that more than 90 percent of participants rate the program a 10 out of 10 and share that they would recommend it to others. Demand is rising, too. This year, there were three times as many applications as available program spots.
So, what makes the program so successful? According to Whybrow, it’s the consistency. The program requires that mentors and mentees commit to at least one dedicated hour each month and encourages them to meet more often when possible.
“That recurring time creates accountability and keeps the relationship from becoming a one-off conversation or a ‘coffee chat’ in name only,” Whybrow said.
Mentees are also expected to set goals at the start of the program based on what they wish to learn and what their mentor can offer. Whybrow said that this makes each relationship more intentional and the outcomes more personalized.
According to Whybrow, one of the biggest skills that Game Changers participants build throughout the program is business acumen. Feedback has revealed that mentees consistently gain a much stronger understanding of how VelocityEHS operates at a high level, including how decisions are made, how different functions work together and how individual roles connect to broader company goals.
“That kind of visibility is incredibly valuable,” Whybrow said. “It helps employees better understand their own place in the organization and how they can contribute more strategically, not just within their current role, but across the business.”
Everyone who participates in VelocityEHS’ Game Changers program benefits from it in their own way. For Johnson, the program taught her a valuable lesson about leadership she carries with her to this day.
“Mentorship gave language to something I was already learning in real time: Leadership is not just about having a title,” Johnson said. “It is about clarity, trust, ownership and helping people move toward a shared outcome. That shift has stayed with me.”
Frequently Asked Questions
What does VelocityEHS do?
VelocityEHS is an AI-powered environmental, health and safety software company. Its software helps organizations achieve their environmental, health, and safety goals by offering capabilities for chemical inventory management, contractor safety and permitting, and environmental compliance.
How does VelocityEHS support career development?
VelocityEHS supports career development by focusing on building a strong internal leadership pipeline and offering dedicated development support to its employees. Specifically, they identify talent and nurture it across the company; provide emerging talent with direct visibility and access to senior executives and informal career networks; and help employees build critical business acumen, allowing them to understand high-level company operations, cross-functional collaboration and strategic decision-making.
What is the Game Changers program at VelocityEHS?
The Game Changers program is VelocityEHS’ internal, nine-month leadership development program. Now running for five years, the program pairs emerging talent with members of the executive team who serve as mentors. It is designed to provide intentional, personal and practical career support by requiring a commitment of at least one dedicated hour of meeting time each month, allowing employees to set personalized goals and learn how to navigate real-world business challenges.
