In 2006, Judge Judy Sheindlin and her daughter started a mentoring programme with just eight or nine girls; 20 years later, it has involved around 1,500 young women and more than 1,000 volunteer mentors

Judge Judy Sheindlin (right) and her daughter Nicole Sheindlin (left)Photo: Her honor nation/ Instagram

When Judge Judy Sheindlin and her daughter Nicole Sheindlin launched Her Honor Mentoring in 2006, it began with a modest group of eight or nine high-school girls and a simple belief: a trusted professional woman could help a young person see a wider future for herself. Twenty years later, the programme has grown into a regional mentoring network involving approximately 1,500 mentees and more than 1,000 volunteer mentors, according to Fox News and Her Honor Mentoring.The programme’s growth is impressive, but its purpose has remained remarkably consistent. Her Honor connects motivated high-school senior girls, many of whom are first-generation college-bound students from families with limited financial resources, with mentors who can offer practical guidance on education, careers, confidence and money. What began as a small experiment has become a structured nine-month experience designed to open doors that might otherwise remain closed.

How the programme began

Nicole Sheindlin has described the programme as a reflection of her own relationship with Judge Judy. After attending the same law school as her stepmother, she later sat beside her in family court, where she saw the influence a strong professional woman could have on a young person’s outlook and opportunities. That experience became the model for Her Honor.The idea was not simply to give girls advice. It was to create sustained relationships between young women and mentors from different professional worlds, allowing mentees to ask questions, test ambitions and learn how to navigate education and work. Judge Judy and Nicole concluded that they could help young women gain extra skills and expand their professional networks by building a programme around that kind of connection.The first class was tiny. Judge Judy recalled that it included only eight or nine participants, while the most recent class in September had more than 100. That growth did not happen overnight, but it shows how a small, well-designed programme can scale when schools, businesses and volunteers see its value.

Who Her Honor serves

Her Honor works with high-school senior girls nominated by their schools. The organisation says its mentees are first-generation, college-bound students from families with limited financial resources, a focus that places the programme where mentorship and professional networks can make the greatest difference.Participants are not left to work things out alone. Her Honor pairs mentors and mentees carefully, taking into account interests and life experiences in order to build relationships based on trust and relevance. The programme’s stated aim is to create a productive and inspiring mentoring relationship rather than a one-off meeting or a generic career talk.The programme now operates across the Bronx, Westchester and Rockland counties in New York, with a pilot initiative in Burlington, New Jersey. Its growth from eight students at one high school to more than 100 students across multiple schools reflects both rising demand and the involvement of local schools, businesses and community organisations.

What mentors actually do

The core of Her Honor is a nine-month hybrid mentoring experience focused on college and career readiness. Mentoring teams meet weekly throughout the academic year, guided by the Her Honor curriculum and arranged at times and places that fit busy schedules.The curriculum goes beyond academic achievement. Mentees work on communication, problem-solving, time management and accountability, while also receiving support around college applications, career exploration and professional presentation. In practice, that can mean learning how to write an email, prepare for an interview, manage deadlines or think seriously about life after high school.Financial literacy is another central part of the experience. Judge Judy told Fox News that participants are paid for working and learn how to dress for success, make first impressions, manage money and become financially prepared for adulthood. The combination of practical work, mentoring and financial education is intended to give young women tools they can use long after the programme ends.

Why the model works

Mentorship often succeeds because it gives young people access to knowledge that is not always available at home or school. A mentor can explain how a workplace operates, what college life is really like, how to handle setbacks or how to ask for help without feeling embarrassed. Those conversations can change how a student imagines her own future.Her Honor also recognises that confidence is practical, not abstract. Former mentee Keiry Alvarez said the programme helped her overcome timidity, while her mentor Lilliana Mendoza said Her Honor helped her gain people skills, find her voice and receive guidance that influenced her career as a police officer. These personal accounts show how the programme’s structure translates into everyday confidence.The programme’s impact extends to mentors as well. Nicole Sheindlin said mentors have discovered that giving back supports their own wellbeing, while Judge Judy noted that several former mentees have returned as mentors after beginning their careers. That cycle turns a mentoring programme into a community habit, where each generation helps prepare the next.

A network, not just a programme

One of Her Honor’s strengths is the breadth of its volunteer base. Fox News reported that more than 1,000 mentors have taken part from 400 organisations and businesses over the programme’s 20-year history. That range exposes mentees to careers and professional environments they may not otherwise encounter.The organisation describes mentoring as a way to bridge education gaps with local business resources. Its philosophy is that investing in young people is essential to building healthy, equitable and resilient communities, and the involvement of companies and professionals gives that philosophy practical form.The current 2026 to 2027 class includes 108 mentees and 123 mentors across 14 schools in the Bronx, Rockland and Westchester counties. The fact that mentors slightly outnumber mentees reflects the programme’s team-based approach, in which guidance is shared rather than delivered by a single adult.

Twenty years of second chances

Judge Judy has spent much of her public life dealing with conflict, dysfunction and difficult decisions. Her Honor offers a different kind of legacy, one built on prevention, encouragement and practical opportunity. She told Fox News that seeing young women still hoping, dreaming and working hard renews her faith in people.The programme’s numbers tell one part of the story: 1,500 mentees, more than 1,000 mentors and 31 high schools involved over two decades. But its deeper achievement may be quieter. It has helped young women develop the confidence, skills and relationships needed to pursue education and work with greater purpose.Her Honor began with a handful of girls and a mother-daughter partnership. Two decades later, it has become proof that mentorship, when done consistently and thoughtfully, can create a cycle of opportunity that reaches far beyond its first classroom.