Parent Director

Purpose of the position

A majority of this board must be parents of children with disabilities. Parent Directors hold that majority. The people who have sat on the wrong side of an IEP table should hold most of the votes over an organization built to serve them.

Responsibilities of this position

• Bring the perspective of a family who has been through the IEP process into board decisions.
• Review family-facing materials before they reach families.
• Judge whether programs reach the families they are meant to reach.
• Serve on a standing committee.
• Refer other parents into the recruitment pipeline.

Responsibilities shared by every director

• Advise on strategy and support the growth of the organization.
• Serve as a subject matter expert in your field and contribute to programming.
• Participate in fundraising. Share our work with your network, make introductions, and help identify potential contributors.
• Present alongside the Executive Director at events and conferences when you are able.
• Complete a conflict of interest disclosure each year and recuse yourself where it applies.
• Keep board deliberations, applicant information, and family information confidential.

Required qualifications

• Lived experience as the parent or caregiver of a child with a disability ages birth through 26.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience with families whose circumstances differ from your own by state, language, income, or disability category.
• Willingness to learn the governance side. We will teach it.

Time commitment

• Six board meetings a year. Meetings are virtual and run ninety minutes.
• Service on at least one standing committee. Committees meet monthly during a founding year and quarterly after that.
• Five to eight hours a month during a founding year. Established years require about three hours a month.

This seat requires no professional credential and no prior board service. We will teach the role to a director who has never served on a board. That is not a disadvantage in your application.

Reports to

The Board of Directors as a whole.

Term

Three years, renewable. The board elects directors and records the election in the minutes.

Scope of the role

Directors do not work with families directly. Directors do not review individual cases, attend IEP meetings, or advise families about their children. One exception applies. A director volunteering at a conference or community event may talk with parents and explain what the organization offers.

Compensation

This is an unpaid volunteer position. We do not require a personal financial contribution. We do not judge any application on whether the applicant can give.

What we provide

• Orientation and an onboarding packet covering the bylaws, the conflict of interest policy, and the board agreement.
• Meeting materials distributed before every meeting.
• A background check. We pay for it, and we complete it before you are seated.

How to apply

One application covers the board and the advisory council. Questions go to info@edquityatthemargins.org.