Just in Time CEO, Don Wells, learned from his own family what kind of mentor and parent he would want to be.

“My Own mother and father were always there for us. They were sort of the parents for the neighborhood. My dad started a neighborhood baseball team and we had ping pong tables and a pool table in our basement,” Don recalls, “My parents’ invisible sign, if it hung above our door, would have been ‘Responsibility.’ I took that with me and added ‘Service’ to it.”

Fast forward several decades later, Don never did have biological children of his own, but after the Columbine shooting he became a mentor to two young people, ages 8 and 9, who were in the foster care system. One of those young people, 20 years later, would become his adopted daughter, Belen. 

Belen, who is also a Just in Time alumni, was officially adopted by Don Wells in 2023. 

Don’s reflection on mentorship?

“There’s an old saying that 90% of success is just showing up. If you just show up, you’ve already exceeded expectations.”

(From right to left: Don Wells, adopted daughter Belen, JIT Co-Founder and Senior Philanthropy Advisor as well as wife to Don Wells and adopted mother to Belen, Diane Cox)

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