Mobius has announced the election of seven new members to its Board of Directors. New additions Angela Ross, Anne Gallivan, Heather Bouchey, Lauren Brumsted Layman, Pam Quinn, Rebecca Majoya, and Stephen Adams bring a wide range of experience and skills to the Mobius Board. Each new member has a unique background in working with youth, and collectively they represent the Mobius Board’s transformation from a regional board into a statewide one, as a part of Mobius’ expanded role as Vermont’s Mentoring Partnership.
Angela Ross, formerly the Public Information Officer at the Vermont Agency of Education and now Executive Assistant to the CEO at Precyse, brings experience in marketing and public relations to the Mobius Board, as well as connections within the education field. “Our schools cannot do it alone,” said Ross. “Mentoring is a piece of the puzzle—one of the wraparound services our schools, and our children, so desperately need. Summer programs and extended day learning (afterschool programs) are another piece. We all have the same goal—we want to see our kids succeed, and become successful and productive citizens.” Ross has also volunteered as a mentor for the last three years through the Everybody Wins! Vermont program at Union Elementary School in Montpelier.
Anne Gallivan, a member of the Vermont House Representatives from the Rutland-Windsor 1 district, brings experience in state government and mentoring program development to the Board. “Joining the Mobius Board will allow me to promote the mission of mentoring all over Vermont,” said Gallivan. “When a young person is matched with a committed mentor, it can turn into a transformational story for both. The magic is not instantaneous, but it is lasting.” Gallivan is a mentor through the Mentor Connector in Rutland, and also launched a mentoring program at Barstow Memorial School in her hometown of Chittenden.
Heather Bouchey, Ph.D., Acting Associate Academic Dean for Enrollment Management at Lyndon State College, offers experience in facilitating collaboration between the college and the surrounding community. Bouchey also serves as director of Lyndon State’s Leahy Center for Rural Studies, which is leading regional initiatives to help support K-12 youth in the Northeast Kingdom. “Through our work in the Leahy Center for Rural Students at Lyndon State College, we’ve developed successful mentoring and outreach programs, helping students plan for and achieve their goals after high school and beyond,” said Bouchey. “We know much about best practice in the field of mentoring at this point in time; now it’s important to better evaluate how such experiences are linked with short- and long-term outcomes, for both mentors and mentees.”
Lauren Brumsted Layman, J.D., associate attorney at Primmer Piper Eggleston and Cramer, provides proficiency in law, government relations, and public policy. “Mentoring is a valuable and unique investment in Vermont's future because it simultaneously promotes positive, healthy goals and choices, and is strongly effective in preventing negative choices,” said Layman. “More importantly, it's fun and rewarding for everyone involved.” Layman’s prior experience includes work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland, and she volunteered as a mentor through Everybody Wins! while living in Washington D.C.
Pam Quinn, director of the Twinfield Together Mentoring Program at Twinfield Union School, brings skills and experience in elementary education and curriculum development, and the perspective of a current direct service mentoring provider. “Mentoring is an effective way to strengthen both children and communities,” said Quinn. “I am excited to be part of the Mobius Board during this exciting time of growth and change.” Pam is a member of Mobius’ Program Leadership Council, and was elected by her peers on the council to fill one of its four seats on the Mobius Board.
Rebecca Majoya, executive director of the Mentor Connector in Rutland, has more than a decade of non-profit management experience, and will provide an informed voice for mentoring programs. “I am invested in mentoring, both as a director of a mentoring agency and as a mentor in both a school and a community-based program,” said Majoya. “There is nothing more worthwhile to me than investing in our youth and creating the best future possible for them!” Majoya has helped lead Mobius’ statewide expansion efforts since 2012 as a member of the Program Leadership Council.
Stephen Adams, Senior Diabetes Care Specialist at Novo Nordisk Inc., brings knowledge and experience in business administration and customer service, and as a volunteer mentor. “I have been a mentor for five years and have seen firsthand the strengths and opportunities that exist in expanding the role of mentoring in our community,” said Adams. “It has reaffirmed my belief that mentoring needs to be an integral part of each community in order to give at-risk youth a better chance for success as they manage the turns of life. I jumped at the chance to join the Mobius board as I cannot think of a more rewarding experience to help improve the participation, resources, and communication of mentoring organizations throughout Vermont.” Adams currently volunteers as a mentor through the King Street Center in Burlington.
According to the “Mentoring Effect,” a study released in 2014 by MENTOR (The National Mentoring Partnership), one in three youth in Vermont will enter adulthood without having a formal or informal mentoring relationship with a caring adult. Adult-to-youth mentoring is a proven strategy for encouraging positive youth development. Based on an abundance of national research, youth with mentors show improvements in school attendance, academic performance, pro-social behavior, and reductions in negative behavior such as substance abuse and engaging in physical violence.
Now in its second year as Vermont’s Mentoring Partnership, Mobius supports more than 150 adult-to-youth mentoring program sites and 2,500 mentor pairs throughout the state. Mobius partners with the Permanent Fund for Vermont’s Children, the A.D. Henderson Foundation, and the Vermont Agency of Human Services to provide around $300,000 in funding each year for mentoring programs across Vermont. Mobius also offers technical support to programs, maintains an online program directory and referral system for volunteers, manages a quality-based program management database, raises public awareness of mentoring, and works with programs to lead statewide mentoring initiatives.