Citywide Mentor-Protégé Program

As part of the City and County of Denver’s commitment to help expand the capacity of certified small firms, the city has created the Citywide Mentor-Protégé Program to help address some of the challenges faced by small firms as they pursue city contracting opportunities.

Through mentorship, certified small firms can learn from larger firms and develop the necessary skills to help scale their businesses. Through this program, selected firms - mentors and protégés - gain valuable educational and networking opportunities while interacting with participating city agencies.

The city does not match mentors and proteges--you must self-select your partner and submit one joint application. Pairings selected to participate must be committed to dedicating time and resources to successfully achieve goals outlined in their development plan.  

Upon successfully completing this program, firms will receive a certificate of completion and a badge to display on their website.

 Protégés:

• Must be a certified small business with the City & County of Denver.
• Must self-select a mentor for a successful business relationship.
• Must have at least 2 years of experience in commercial or government contracting.
• Must provide professional services, construction, or goods & services.

Mentors:

• Must be in business for at least 5 years with a local office in the 7-county Denver Metro Area.
• Must self-select a protégé (can mentor multiple if capacity allows).
• Must designate an executive-level staff member to support the protégé.
• Must have completed at least $3 million in work with the City & County of Denver.
• Must demonstrate the ability to provide development assistance to enhance the protégé’s success.
• Must provide professional services, construction, or goods & services.

Applications are now closed.  

Learn who participated in our 2025-2026 cohort down below.  

Team 1
Mentor: AECOM | Protégé: CONNECT Engineering

Team 2
Mentor: Felsburg Holt & Ullevig | Protégé: ACL Inc.

Team 3
Mentor: GH Phipps | Protégé: Element Systems

Team 4
Mentor: Kimley-Horn | Protégé: Calderon Advertising & Public Relations 

Team 5
Mentor: Martin/Martin Inc | Protégé: ISTA Engineers

Team 6
Mentor: McCarthy Building Companies, Inc | Protégé: Novus Construction

Team 7
Mentor: Shrewsberry and Associates | Protégé: IronStride Solutions

Team 8
Mentor: Swinerton Construction | Protégé: R3NG

Team 9
Mentor: WH Smith - North America | Protégé: National Essentials