Breaking Bread Launches New Mentorship Program
Virtual mentorship meetings take place over six weeks, in addition to hosting leadership workshops, monthly events and a podcast series.
A Breaking Bread panel discussion with Akanksha Aga and former Rhode Island Hospitality Association President and CEO Dale Venturini at Track 15. Photos and podcast produced by Brittanny Taylor Photography,
Breaking Bread is a leadership mentoring program led by founder Akanksha Aga. It was created to help bridge the opportunity and talent gap by providing mentoring and leadership development across career stages.
The program pairs up mentees in a cohort through one-hour weekly virtual mentorship meetings over six weeks, in addition to hosting leadership workshops and monthly events, and producing a podcast series. Breaking Bread’s podcast and YouTube Channel share valuable leadership content, such as interviews with Breaking Bread board member and Providence and Warwick Convention and Visitors’ Bureau President and CEO Kristen Adamo, Gracie’s and Ellie’s proprietor Ellen Gracyalny, and myself, Jamie Coelho editor-in-chief of Rhode Island Monthly.
While, Like Aga, many of the program’s participants have a background in hospitality and tourism, people from all professional areas are welcome to participate. Aga spent twenty-five-plus years in hospitality, food service and higher education and she launched Breaking Bread because she saw a persistent gap: “Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not,” she says. “Many talented and hardworking individuals lack the mentoring and professional development needed to advance their careers. Over time, this absence of support leads to disengagement, negatively impacting their career prospects, confidence and mental health. It also hurts organizations through high turnover and team conflict.
Breaking Bread is open to anyone who is committed to learning how to grow their career through mentorship. “Mentorship has the power to unlock the true potential of talented individuals and guide their professional journey. I have experienced the benefits firsthand as both a mentee and a mentor,” Aga says. “I recently caught up with a former mentee who is now mentoring multiple people. Seeing this powerful, positive ripple effect reaffirms our core belief: Nothing connects people like breaking bread together.”
The core of Breaking Bread focuses on what they call the 4Cs: “developing Competencies, making meaningful Connections, building Confidence, and fostering a supportive Community,” Aga says.
The future is bright for inspiring new leaders just by setting them up to learn from existing ones. “By the end of 2026, I hope to see hundreds of Breaking Bread participants who have measurably grown through our programs,” Aga says. “We aim to support individual participants alongside small businesses, nonprofits and communities that typically lack the resources for structured mentorship and leadership development.”
Aga hopes to eventually partner with larger organizations for “One for One” programs, where they sponsor a Breaking Bread cohort for their own team and one for local, small businesses. Find out more about the program at breakingbreadusa.org.
Watch the YouTube and Podcast series below.
