Board of Trustees

Overview

Our policies and major financial decisions are made by a volunteer Board of Trustees whose members include individuals with developmental disabilities, family members, and leaders in our community. The members of our governing board are required to be composed of individuals with demonstrated interest in, or knowledge of, developmental disabilities and our board membership is also required to include: 

• Persons with legal, management, public relations, and developmental disability program skills; 

• Representatives of the various categories of disability served by our center; 

• Representatives reflecting the geographic and ethnic characteristics of the area served by our center;

• A minimum of 50 percent of the members of the governing board must be persons with developmental disabilities or their parents or legal guardians; 

• No less than 25 percent of the members of the governing board must be persons with developmental disabilities; 

• One member of our board must be a representative of our service provider community. 

All members of our Board are required to either live or work in the geographic area served by our center. Members of our governing board are not permitted to serve more than seven years within each eight-year period. 

Public Meetings

Regular meetings of the Board of Trustees are held bi-monthly on the third Tuesday evening of January, March, May, July, September and November beginning at 6:00 pm. In-person meetings have resumed as of May 2024.

Those interested in attending will find information on our website one week prior to each meeting. Spanish interpretation is available for all of the Board of Trustees meetings. Interpretation in any other language is available upon request, by advance notice at least five (5) business days prior to the meeting date.

Details about the public meetings can be found here.

Board Committees

The following committees are groups within Harbor Regional Center’s Board of Trustees that help the Board with specific tasks. Each committee is comprised of representatives from the Board of Trustees and may be comprised of other individuals as indicated in our bylaws.

For meetings that are open to the public, interpretation for any language is available when requested at least five (5) or more business days before the event or at the time of registration.

• Executive/Finance Committee
• An Audit Committee
• Client Advisory Committee
• Client Services Committee
• Board Development Committee
• Board Planning Committee
• Community Relations Committee
• Retirement Committee
• Self-Determination Advisory Committee
• Service Provider Advisory Committee

Board Membership

Each year our Board Development Committee determines how many vacancies we expect to occur in the coming fiscal year and, before the end of each calendar year, the Committee members review all applications on hand to select candidates for interview. When we expect to have vacancies, the Board Development Committee schedules and conducts interviews in the months of January, February and March and advises Board members by April of those candidates whom they will recommend. Candidates are voted on at our annual meeting in May and, those elected are seated on the Board at the beginning of the fiscal year in July. 

If you are interested in serving on the Board of Trustees for Harbor Regional Center, we encourage you to contact our Executive Office at (310) 543-0632 to let us know of your interest. We will provide you with an application. After you have completed and returned the completed application, it will be kept on file for review and consideration as vacancies occur.