Camille Applin-Jones, senior vice president and area manager at Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plan; Elyse Cohen, chief impact officer at Rare Beauty; and Rebecca Peabody, head of research projects and academic outreach at Getty Research Institute, kicked off Newsweek’s Women’s Global Impact Forum with a conversation about the power of sponsorship in Los Angeles, California, on March 25, 2026.
Sponsorship differs from mentorship, which Cohen described as ongoing conversations and career guidance in a one-on-one situation.
“I think about sponsorship as really like the layup and the shot; let’s bring them into the room when they’re not there, and let’s get them through the door,” she said. “A lot of times, it happens in the subtle moments that we don’t always think about. I like to be strategic about ensuring that my team has exposure across our business so that I’m not the only one that’s saying their name, and when I am saying their names in a room, everyone else has already been exposed to them.”
In hybrid and remote workplaces, sponsorship can be more difficult as early-career employees may have less visibility with senior leadership. For a younger generation, Applin-Jones said it’s really about getting opportunity.
“When I sponsor people, I think a lot about potential,” she said. “So I think that the responsibility for all of us as leaders is to really ensure that we are providing them with the visibility opportunities … so that they can practice and be seen while they’re learning.”
For more coverage of the Women’s Global Impact Forum, read Newsweek’s full recap of the day’s events.
