Mobius has announced the addition of two new members to its Board of Directors: Bonnie Ferro and Rob Niccolai. Both Ferro and Niccolai share a passion for supporting youth, and bring a wide range of experience and expertise to the organization.
“As a longtime advocate of mentoring, I am excited to be joining the board of Mobius,” said Ferro. “Having a mentor enhances children’s self-esteem and expands their possibilities for academic and life success. Mobius strengthens mentoring programs throughout Vermont and ensures that youth throughout Vermont will have the opportunity to have a mentor.”
Ferro currently serves as director of the Charles P. Ferro Foundation, and previously worked as the executive director of Everybody Wins! Vermont, a statewide literacy-based mentoring organization. Prior to her time at Everybody Wins!, Ferro worked as the director’s office coordinator at the Shelburne Museum and before that as the development director for the King Street Center. Since 2012, Ferro has also volunteered her time as a mentor, first through the King Street Center’s Junior Senior Buddies program, and more recently as a reading mentor through Everybody Wins!
Niccolai is currently president and principal of KSV, a Burlington-based advertising agency that specializes in energy efficiency and sustainability. He has a wide range of experience at marketing agencies across the country, including previous positions with UPBrand Collaborative, Osborn & Barr, the Shelton Group, and the Woodbine Agency. Niccolai also joined Mobius’ Public Awareness Committee, a group of volunteers with marketing and public relations expertise who help the organization plan and implement larger public awareness campaigns and initiatives.
“I'm excited to join Mobius and support those committed to mentoring in Vermont,” said Niccolai. “Being a positive role model and sharing what we know is transformational. We all have that one person who made all the difference.”
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. The results of national studies by MENTOR and Big Brothers Big Sisters illustrate that a mentor can enhance a young person’s learning skills and help him or her build resiliency and pro-social skills. Youth with mentors are less likely to engage in risky behavior with drugs and alcohol, are more likely to develop positive relationships with peers and adults, and more likely to pursue college and other post-secondary opportunities.
Now in its fourth year as Vermont’s Mentoring Partnership, Mobius supports more than 140 adult-to-youth mentoring program sites that serve 2,300 mentor pairs throughout the state. In addition to managing the Vermont Mentoring Grants, Mobius also offers technical support to program staff, 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.