PHOENIX (STN) – Latasha Causey, the first Black woman to serve as president of NASCAR’s Phoenix Raceway, participated in an ‘In the Room’ panel discussion during the season three premiere of ‘It Happens at STN’ to discuss the valuable role mentorship has played in her professional and personal journeys.
“We talk about mentorship from a career perspective, but it also could be life,” Causey said. “It could be truly, absolutely anything.”
Watch the In The Room Action Panel:
During the discussion, Causey traced her path from doing community development work at USAA to meeting, developing a friendship with, and eventually replacing former Phoenix Raceway President Julie Giese.
“Randomly, Julie and I were on a panel together with the Phoenix Business Journal,” she said. “Julie and I became quick friends. She is a phenomenal human being [when] you talk about mentorship. She’s a huge mentor for me.”
“We talk about mentorship from a career perspective, but it also could be life. It could be truly, absolutely anything.”
- Latasha Causey / President, NASCAR’s Phoenix Raceway
It was that mentor-mentee relationship that gave Causey the opportunity to take over from Giese when she left for a similar position with NASCAR in Chicago. Looking back on her journey, the value of Giese’s mentorship and networking isn’t lost on Causey.
“It was all network,” she said. “Julie [saw] something in me and saw something that NASCAR needed—someone like me at the raceway.”
Causey is quick to praise the people who have mentored her throughout her life and said she believes both mentoring and being mentored can have a significant impact on improving lives.
“I think sometimes we use the term ‘mentorship’ a little loosely,” she said. “Sometimes people are afraid of mentorship. You don’t know what you’re doing for someone else, what that will do, and how that will open up your network.”
Causey said it is important for potential mentors to remember that even small gestures can go a long way toward pointing someone in the right direction.
“It’s just organic,” she said. “It’s about picking up that phone call, answering the email, or spending a few minutes over coffee with someone—that can go a really long way.”
She added that mentoring isn’t about solving problems for someone; it’s about being there to listen.
“Sometimes they just want to have a conversation and ideate and strategize about something that’s going on in their life. It could be truly anything.”
