When choosing one in the area your plan to invest in, it is very important that you interview them in-depth to make sure they are not FOS.  

Maybe try to look up one or more of her current students and interview them.

I interviewed 5 CPAs, three were firms recommended by other real estate investors.

This is a two-way interview, so have a short list of questions to ask the mentor (What books do you recommend I read to gain a better understanding?

It's my goal to share on the forums every day (and go live at 6pm every Thursday) to share Lessons I've learned and interview others to get their stories as well 

I actually read this blog series that you've recommended and have my "interview questions" (plucked straight from your post) all lined up and ready to go for the PMCs that I will be speaking with. 

My wife are in escrow on our first rental property purchase (in the Columbus, Ohio market) and are underway with inspection, finalizing the loan, getting quotes on homeowners insurance, interviewing property managers, etc.

I had a long conversation/interview with them at first, to which everything seemed great!

Try interviewing at least three managers.1.

If you are leaning towards using a property manager or think you may at some point, just make sure you budget for that in your analysis so that your cash flow figures are taking that potential expense into account.Since this would only be your first property, I don't think you need a professional hiring firm--it would probably be more beneficial for you to do the interviewing yourself to be sure that you set expectations properly, are aligned, and can work well together.