Move toward your goals, wherever you're starting from
Mentoring and coaching that help people move toward their goals. Currently piloting with youth navigating goals while living under occupation.
Why Elna
Support that doesn't assume a stable, predictable environment.
Elna Project exists because career and personal development support usually assumes a stable, predictable environment, and for many people, that assumption doesn't hold. Elna's approach is different in two ways.
Coaching integrates joy-based, stress-reducing practice directly into the process of pursuing a goal, not as a separate wellness feature, but as part of how the coaching journey works. Movement, music, laughter, community, creativity, and mindfulness are woven into sessions alongside goal-focused work. Mentoring offers direct, structured access to experienced professionals, for people who mainly need career guidance and connections.
This approach is informed by the realities people are living through, but it's built to be useful to anyone seeking a steadier, more resilient way to work toward what matters to them.
How we work
Participants can choose a single track, coaching, mentoring, or training, or a combined package, built around whatever goal they're working toward.
Coaching
A structured process to help you find solutions, as a trained coach guides you to cut through noise, spot the actual obstacle in your way, and build a plan you'll follow through on, because it's yours. Over 2 sessions a month for 3 months, you leave each one with something concrete: a decision made, a next step defined, a block removed.
Joy-based practices (movement, music, social connection, creativity) are built into the process too, to enhance the experience and move you forward.
- Entry point: 15 minute introductory session, booked via the website
- Commitment: 2 sessions/month, minimum 3 months, plus 20 minutes/day for joy-based practices
- ICF accredited
- Free for the 2026 pilot (5 spots); pricing after the pilot to be confirmed
Mentoring
Structured, career-focused guidance from professionals with experience in a specific domain. Two forms: peer-to-peer mentoring, support from someone with relevant, recent experience achieving a specific goal, and top-down mentoring, support from a mentor with 10+ years of established experience for longer-term career goals.
- 2 sessions/month, pro bono, minimum 3 month commitment
- Process: join the waitlist, introductory session, matched with a mentor
- Progress reviewed at month 1, then every 3 months
- Free during the pilot
Combined Package
For career goals that benefit from both tracks together: 2 coaching sessions/month plus 2 mentoring sessions/month, minimum 3 months. The joy-based method applies through the coaching sessions.
- 2 coaching + 2 mentoring sessions/month
- Minimum 3 month commitment
- Joy-based practice via the coaching sessions
- Free for first 5 spots in 2026, then at cost
| Not sure which fits? | Coaching | Mentoring | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A structured process that helps you cut through noise, spot the real obstacle, and build a plan you'll actually follow through on | Direct guidance and advice from someone experienced in your field | Both: your own clarity, plus direct advice |
| Best for | Any goal, career or personal, where you need to get unstuck | Career-specific guidance and connections | Career goals that benefit from both |
| Delivered by | A trained coach | An experienced mentor | Both |
| Sessions | 2/month | 2/month | 2 coaching + 2 mentoring/month |
| Commitment | Minimum 3 months | Minimum 3 months | Minimum 3 months |
| Cost (2026 pilot) | Free for first 5 spots, then at cost | Free | Free for first 5 spots, then at cost |
| Getting started | Join waitlist, intro session | Join waitlist, intro session, matched | Join waitlist, intro session, matched |
Choose coaching if your goal is to get more clarity, get unstuck, and move steadily toward what you want, with someone skilled guiding the process. Choose mentoring if you already know what you're working toward professionally and want direct, specific advice from someone who's been there. Choose combined if your goal would benefit from both.
Who We Serve
Where the pilot starts, and where it's headed.
Currently: Elna Project is in its pilot phase, supporting individuals living under occupation and in conflict affected settings. The initial pilot cohort is Palestinian youth, ages 18 to 35, seeking support with personal and professional goals.
Elna is designed to grow. Future phases are expected to include other segments of Palestinian society, other Arabic speaking conflict affected communities, and over time, people outside conflict affected contexts altogether. The current pilot reflects where the project is starting, not a permanent limit on who it's for. Expansion will be shaped by what's learned during the pilot, reviewed at a decision point in early 2027.
Elna Project supports individuals in pursuing personal and professional goals through coaching and mentoring. It is not a trauma-response or clinical mental health service, and it does not address the root causes of conflict or occupation. Coaches and mentors are trained to recognize when someone's needs go beyond what the program can offer, and to point them toward appropriate additional support.
Who's behind Elna Project
Founder
Leads the project and serves as coach during the 2026 pilot.
Network of mentors
Experienced professionals offering structured career mentoring, pro bono, selected and confirmed ahead of pilot launch.
Network of service providers
Future stage: partners across health, financial, and creative or joy-based services, connected through referral when a participant's goal calls for it.
Tell us a little about you
Share who you are and why you’re interested in mentoring or coaching. Once we’ve read it, you’ll be able to pick a time for a short introductory call.