Over a late dinner in Manhattan, Derek Porter and Kristian Rodriguez laugh easily, picking up the wide-ranging conversation that once filled their monthly meetings. Their official pairing in the IESNYC Guiding Lights Circle ended months ago, but neither felt much need to stop talking. What began as a formal mentorship has settled into a friendship built on shared curiosity, professional growth, and a common passion for lighting.
The Guiding Lights Circle, led by Jean Jacques for the Illuminating Engineering Society New York City Section, pairs lighting veterans with emerging professionals for nearly a year of structured but flexible engagement. The aim is to help new designers find direction while giving mentors a way to pass on what the classroom or the office rarely teaches: confidence, perspective, and a sense of our unique community.
Porter, a professor in the Parsons graduate lighting program and a practicing lighting designer at Derek Porter Studio, joined the first Guiding Lights cycle as a natural extension of his teaching. “It’s ingrained in me to share and to help others learn,” he said. “I’ve got life and professional experiences that others can truly benefit from when there’s alignment on a personal level.
”Rodriguez studied architecture in Mexico and earned a master’s in architectural lighting at Hochschule Wismar in Germany. For him, New York City represented the center of gravity for lighting design. “When I moved to New York City, I wanted the full experience,” he recalled. “I discovered this huge community of lighting designers, joined the IES and IALD, and saw how supportive they were, especially with emerging professionals.” He landed at HLB Lighting in 2023.
The Guiding Lights structure is quite straightforward: mentors must have at least 5 years of professional experience; mentees, fewer than 5. Each one-on-one pairing meets for 9 months, at least monthly. A social “meet-and-greet” launches the cycle, which allows mentees to rank the mentors whose approach or background most resonates. Though all mentees won’t get their first pick, the committee matches pairs behind the scenes.
From match to momentum
Rodriguez originally ranked several independent practitioners, but Porter stood out. “He combined lighting design with art. That was his special sauce,” Rodriguez said. Their pairing clicked immediately.
They met every month, typically over dinner. Each meeting lasted two to three hours, as brief notes became dialogue and dialogue became reflection, Rodriguez made the most of the experience. He spent 10–12 hours between meetings advancing the goals they set. Porter asked Rodriguez to begin a self-authored plan: his list of priorities. “I see my role as a sounding board,” Porter explained. “The mentee drafts a plan, then we meet, discuss, and prioritize. It’s a living document. He brings a new version to every meeting.”
What began as a checklist soon became an evolving syllabus. Public speaking, networking, and business literacy were early themes. Porter invited him to participate in mid-term reviews at Parsons. This constituted a low-stakes way to practice presenting ideas. “Sequencing actions step-by-step matters,” Porter said. “Some things you can implement right away; others take years.”
Rodriguez admits the “homework” sometimes competed with work and life. But the process itself shifted his mindset. “At first I wanted everything finished and perfect,” he said. “Then I realized it’s about enjoying the process and observing how you’re doing at each step.” He learned to prioritize, not to check boxes. “That structure gave me direction,” he said. “It helped me focus on what comes first.”
Learning to see differently
Over the course of the program, Rodriguez’s ambitions broadened. “I joined wanting to be part of the lighting community,” he said. “Along the way, I discovered I also wanted to be part of the art and design world. And that I like the business side of design.”
Porter, who has taught for decades, recognized this path immediately. “With graduate students and young professionals, you’re not just transferring content,” he said. “You’re building confidence and resilience. They’re writing the syllabus, and you’re helping them test it against the real world.”
Books became another bridge. Porter recommended one on neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), which examines how language patterns influence behavior. Rodriguez dove right in: “It’s my bible now,” he said, laughing. “Whenever I have an issue with communication, I go back to it. It helps me understand people – and myself – better.” He also drew from design thinking, a framework used in design education to analyze problems, test solutions, and iterate. “You can apply it to life,” he said. “It helps you organize ideas and move forward.”
Their dinners mixed inventiveness with pragmatism: goal-tracking as well as issues concerning family, travel, and art. “We let the conversation wander,” Porter recalled. “That informality – lingering, sharing stories – creates intimacy. It’s what makes the dialogue meaningful.”
Confidence and connection
The initial cycle of Guiding Lights was set to last 6 months, but most pairs requested more time. That stretched to eight months, and the program has now settled at 9 months. By the end, Rodriguez had clear priorities, even though they were not what he initially intended. He has more confidence in his professional identity, and a network of peers that feel more like home. And confidence: “I take action on the things I want to do now,” he said. “I’m comfortable walking into events and meeting people. Lighting feels like a community. I see the familiar faces, and even though we haven’t met… I know who they are.”
That sense of connection, he said, differentiates lighting from his experience in architecture. “Architecture is huge. Lighting is smaller, but more connected. These are my people.”
Porter agreed: “Social media has eroded genuine connection…. What we do in person matters: conversation, generosity, accountability…. When you make a personal connection, it changes how people learn, how they pay attention, even how they value hard work.”
Mentorship, he added, satisfies that need for connection. “It’s a way to reach young professionals in a deep, lasting way. The rapport you build doesn’t stop at 9 months. The conversation keeps going.”
Looking ahead
As the 2025-26 cycle of Guiding Lights Circle unfolds, Porter is back with a new mentee. He intends to follow the same approach of letting the mentee draft their own evolving roadmap. “It seems to be working,” he laughed. “We’ll develop our process together.”
Rodriguez, meanwhile, is weighing his next steps. He may stay in New York or one day return to Mexico to teach and help expand lighting education there. “I want to give back,” he said. “Lighting is still very young in Mexico, and sharing what I’ve learned feels important.”
Both credit the IESNYC with creating a culture that makes such ambitions possible. “The Guiding Lights Circle Committee put in enormous effort,” Porter said. “It’s something other [IES] sections could adapt for their own communities.”
Jean Jacques, Executive Vice President of rep firm SDA Lighting & Controls, is a driving force behind the program. “It’s incredibly fulfilling to know that we are working as a section to foster growth and connection in our community. It would be amazing if other organizations wanted to follow suit and develop something organic in their own region. We’d love to ‘mentor the mentors’!” Contact the committee at [email protected].
The Guiding Lights Circle program has open applications July 6–August 21, 2026. The 2026–27 cycle will run September through June, continuing a program that, by design, doesn’t really end. Back at the restaurant, Rodriguez and Porter will once again share their ideas on art, travel, and teaching. It’s not instruction: it’s connection.