WARWICK – After more than a quarter century with Mentor Rhode Island, Jo-Ann Schofield will soon shift her work to another local nonprofit.
Brendan Ahearn, chairperson of the youth mentoring support nonprofit’s board of directors, announced in a letter to the community that Schofield will have her final day at Mentor Rhode Island on Sept. 22 after working for the organization for 26 years, with the last 10 as its CEO and president. Marc Mainville, Mentor Rhode Island’s current chief of operations, will serve as interim CEO and president upon Schofield’s departure while the board will conduct a search for a permanent organizational leader.
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“Our gratitude goes out to Jo-Ann [Schofield] for the decades of commitment she has poured into ensuring [Mentor Rhode Island] reaches as many kids in need of mentorship as possible,” Ahearn wrote. “Our organization is in a better place because of her love for it.”
Schofield told Providence Business News on Tuesday that she will become resource director at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Warwick starting Sept. 25. She said she will help the Boys & Girls Clubs raise money and oversee grants, among other duties.
Schofield also said personal tragedy factored into her decision to depart Mentor Rhode Island after spending 40% of her life with the nonprofit. Her spouse, Sandra “Sandy” A. Edmundson, died last July and Pamela Sherman, a longtime colleague of Schofield’s at Mentor Rhode Island, died unexpectedly last October, Schofield said. The combination of those two personal losses and that Schofield “did not have the same spark the organization needed” to properly lead the organization prompted Schofield to make this career decision, along with the new job at the Boys & Girls Clubs being “the universe answering what would be great” for her next chapter, she said.
“I just knew that it was my time to [leave Mentor Rhode Island] because this was definitely my dream job, but it got to a point where it wasn’t a dream anymore,” Schofield said. “It’s not fair for me to hang onto it when I know it could be somebody else’s dream job.”
Mentor Rhode Island’s annual “Dancing with the Stars” fundraiser, which involves professional dancers pairing with local community members to help support the organization, is among the nonprofit’s initiatives that Schofield is most proud of. Along with raising significant funds for the organization, Schofield also said those who learned how to dance at the fundraiser also went on to compete in national dance competitions.
Additionally, Mentor Rhode Island in the last year distributed more than $1 million to other nonprofits that offer mentoring and foster high-quality mentoring with those organizations, she said.
“We’re able to train people doing best practices,” Schofield said, “and really build that community of practice across Rhode Island.”
Also, Schofield says she will help Mentor Rhode Island guide its acquisition of its new nonprofit headquarters within the city. Ahearn said in the letter the lease on its current home on Warwick Avenue expires in November.
Schofield said the organization is under contract to purchase a new location for Mentor Rhode Island within the next three to four weeks. Schofield declined to comment on further specifics on the new location, citing the agreement has not been finalized yet.
Schofield, though, is appreciative of the positive connections Mentor Rhode Island has made with children and adults over the years. She said the organization knows all children “are vibrant and have spark,” however opportunity is not equally distributed. By having mentors, Schofield said, Mentor Rhode Island have helped children and adults alike be “their best selves.”
“It all comes back to the relationships that are formed with both adults and children, [and the community],” Schofield said.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
