Want to shape advocacy, support, and accountability for and with Oklahomans with IDD?

Five seats on our Board of Directors are opening this year, and I want to tell you honestly what that means, because "join our board" gets said a lot in the nonprofit world without much explanation of what it involves.

We serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families in all 77 Oklahoma counties, from birth through the end of life. That is a big footprint for a board of 24 people, and it works best when the people making decisions come from as many different parts of that map and that population as we can find.

You don't need a personal connection to disability to belong here

One of our past board presidents joined years ago with no family connection to disability at all. She got there through a coworker who had an adult son with a disability and was looking for a board where she could grow her leadership experience. She ended up serving as governance chair and then president. She stayed because the work pulled her in, not because someone in her life needed it.

I tell that story because I don't want anyone reading this to assume they don't qualify. If you have a personal connection to IDD, whether you're a parent, a sibling, a caregiver, or a self-advocate, that experience matters, and we want it represented. But we also need people who show up because the mission is real and the need is documented, not because they've lived it firsthand.

What we're looking for

We need people who work alongside our community professionally: special education teachers, physical and occupational therapists, speech therapists, physicians, pediatricians, psychologists, and ABA therapists. We also need attorneys, CPAs, bankers, and HR professionals, the kind of expertise every board needs regardless of the cause. And fundraising experience is always welcome. We know how hard that is to find, and we're not pretending otherwise.

We’re committed to building a board that represents the entire state, with an intentional emphasis on including voices from Oklahoma’s rural communities, that matters to us more than you might think. We take calls and requests from every county, and our board should reflect that reach, not just where our office happens to sit.

What the commitment looks like

A board term runs three years, with the option to serve a second term before rolling off. Board meetings happen virtually, which keeps travel time off the table. Each fall, the board comes together in person for a strategic planning session, which is the one time everyone is in the same room.

Beyond the meetings themselves, board members serve on at least one committee, whether that's governance, finance, or another area where their background fits. It's a time commitment. It is not a small ask. But it's also not a vague one, and I'd rather you know that going in than find out three months into a term that wasn't what you expected.

What happens after you apply

You fill out our Leadership Interest Questionnaire, and our governance committee reviews it. If it looks like a good fit on both sides, someone from that committee reaches out to set up a real conversation, not an interview in the intimidating sense, just a chance for both of us to ask questions and see if this makes sense.

We’re encouraged by the interest we’ve already seen and are currently following up with new applicants. As we continue building a stronger statewide board, we’d love to add many more names to that list.

I've led this organization since 2019, and what I keep learning is that the people who show up, whether for one meeting or a full term, change what's possible for Oklahoma families. If you've been looking for a place to put what you know, what you've lived, or what you're good at toward something that matters, I'd like to hear from you.

Leadership Interest Questionnaire