Jo-Ann Schofield, president and COO of the RI Mentoring Partnership based in Warwick, has been appointed to a national advisory panel for mentoring. The Mentoring Partnership Advisory Council (MPAC) will provide MENTOR (the National Mentoring Partnership) and the youth mentoring field with capacity-building expertise and strategic guidance on a variety of national initiatives and projects. Schofield and her colleagues from around the nation will focus on topics in areas of quality-based mentoring, resource development, public awareness, public policy and research. Schofield has become a leader in the youth mentoring field through her years as an administrator of the R.I. Mentoring Partnership, a non-profit agency that helps provide adult mentors to children in Rhode Island who could benefit from having one. Schofield was appointed to the council after being selected through a peer nomination process. Those interested in donating to the Rhode Island Mentoring Partnership or learning more about becoming involved in mentoring in Rhode Island, can visit the Rhode Island Mentoring Partnership’s website at www.mentorRI.org.