At the 2015 NIEHS Science Festival, Dr. Carmen Williams was awarded NIEHS Mentor of the Year to recognize her dedication to mentoring. Dr. Williams’ past and present trainees describe her as being consistently available and truly making mentoring a priority. She tailors her style to individual trainees, pays attention to what works and what doesn’t, and isn’t afraid of new ideas or debates over the best approach. Dr Williams currently mentors Alisa Suen, a fourth year graduate student in the Curriculum in Toxicology.