For most of the Kansas City District workforce, LDP can feel distant or abstract. The selection process is highly competitive, with only about a dozen employees chosen each year for a grueling, yearlong commitment.
So, once a new class is selected and introduced at the outgoing group graduation, some may assume their colleagues’ work in the program is complete when they fully return to their regular duties with some increased responsibility.
But for participants, the journey doesn’t end at graduation. In the program’s second year, members step out of the spotlight and into the shadows — taking on independent projects that challenge them to deliver something lasting for their departments or the enterprise.
“When I started thinking about my year two project, I wanted to choose something that would have a real impact,” Smith said. “Not just for me but for the entire district.”
Smith, who has designed several SharePoint sites and web applications for the district and the U.S. Army, noticed a gap. While mentorship in the district has long been recognized as valuable, it often lacks structure and consistency.
“Mentorship has always been talked about as important, but there wasn’t always a clear path to make it happen,” he said.
That realization drove Smith to put his technical skills to work again, this time to build a tool that connects mentors and mentees across the Kansas City district.
Turning an idea into action
The mentorship app concept wasn’t born out of thin air. During their first year in the program, Smith and fellow cohort members Cady Ford, Brian Turk and Manhal Alsaman developed the foundation as part of a group project, a standard requirement for all LDP participants.
“My year two project was essentially an extension from the year one project,” Smith said. “Manhal, Cady, Brian and I put together the documentation, SharePoint site and then the application. A lot of the documentation was based on the Summer Intern Program guides that Cady previously created. The year two project was really getting the application ready to go.”
The goal, he explained, was to create a streamlined, transparent process that gave every employee — not just those tapped for LDP — the chance to find meaningful mentorship.
How the application works
Previously, mentorship often developed informally through word of mouth or personal networks, leaving opportunities unevenly distributed.
“The goal was to make mentorship more accessible and consistent, instead of just relying on who you happen to know,” Smith said.
The app uses user data such as career fields, skills and personal interests to match mentors and mentees with greater precision.
So instead of being randomly assigned, employees are paired based on compatibility, increasing the chances of a productive and successful long-term working relationship.
“Newer employees sometimes don’t know where to start, and seasoned employees don’t always know who’s looking for guidance,” Smith said. “The app helps bridge that gap.”
The system also provides tracking features to help pair schedule meetings, monitor progress and ensure accountability for both parties.
Importantly, it gives experienced professionals the option to serve as both mentors and mentees — keeping up with their professional development goals, while pouring their institutional knowledge and experience into the next generation of potential district superstars.
“The beauty of this tool is its simplicity — it doesn’t replace relationships, it helps them form,” he said.
A lasting contribution
For Smith, the mentorship app is about more than technical problem-solving. It represents the type of leadership the program is designed to cultivate — creating opportunities for others to succeed.
“Leadership is about creating opportunities for others, and this project gave me a chance to do that in a tangible way,” he said. “It’s not just about career development. It’s also about building community and trust within our organization.”
Smith also sees the tool as a way to leave something lasting for the district in a time of uncertainty, since many of his friends, colleagues and other employees have departed federal service since January.
“I wanted to leave something behind that could continue to help the district long after I’ve graduated from the program,” he said.
As the app rolls out across the district in the coming months, Smith said the true measure of success won’t be in its design or functionality, but in the impact it has on people’s careers.
“If even one person finds the right mentor through this tool and grows in their career, then the project has done its job,” he said.
Once he irons out the final kinks, Smith said district leadership is actively looking how to broadly implement the tool — with potential expansion beyond the Kansas City District, if successful.
“They were excited about it when we did our briefings in year one and year two,” he said. “They even gave some good ideas on how to make it better.”