Dear Lanterman Community,
Last Friday, August 1, marked my first 30 days as the new Executive Director of Lanterman Regional Center and I want to take a moment to pause and reflect with all of you.
First and foremost, I want to express how deeply grateful I am to be here. It is not lost on me what a privilege it is to serve in this role, and how incredibly fortunate I am to be part of this organization. I’ve stepped into a position previously held by two extraordinary women whose leadership left meaningful and lasting legacies. It’s both humbling and inspiring to follow in their footsteps and carry that awareness with me every day.
It’s been a very BUSY but EXCITING 30 days for me. This past month, I had the pleasure and opportunity to join 7 parent-led support groups to introduce myself and talk about my vision, my commitments and my ask of the community. Our discussions have been very thoughtful, honest, and a great start to what I know will be a great partnership. So I wanted to take a moment and share my message with all of you. As your Executive Director, I am committed to Lanterman Regional Center’s Core Values, and in partnership, I also ask for …
- Community Ownership – That I, and we together, have shared responsibility in the successful operations of the Regional Center and the successful advancement of our Center’s Mission and Vision.
- Partnership – That I, and we collectively continue to work in a spirit of collaboration, with an eye towards solutions, providing honest feedback and working together to problem solve where necessary for the betterment of the people we are entrusted with supporting.
- Accountability – That I, and we together, remain accountable to one another, to our Mission, and to our contractual and regulatory responsibilities. That where we fall short, we identify our shortcomings, acknowledge it, and work to improve from it. And where there are successes, whether it is the individual successes of the people we support or their families, our staff, or the Center as a whole, we identify the successes and celebrate them together.
- Leadership – That I, and we together, continue to serve as Leaders within our community – whether that looks like stepping up to offer support, or volunteering in a support group, tabling a weekend event, or serving as the Executive Director of the Regional Center – together we continue to be leaders in our community to advance our Mission and ALL rights.
- Advocacy – That I, and we together, continue to advocate for the rights of ALL Californians with developmental disabilities; to advocate for the health and well-being of the people we support, their families and our communities and that we work to protect the health and safety of those we are accountable to.
Over the next two months, I will be joining the rest of the support groups and am excited to do so. I will be making a stop at our Service Provider Advisory Committee, our Programs & Services Committee and our Client Advisory Committee, followed by an in-person Coffee with Lanterman open forum for our community in October 2025 (more information to follow).
I welcome you to join me at our support groups or at our community events. I look forward to meeting you along the way. To stay connected, I encourage you to sign-up for our e-mail newsletter, follow our social media and stop by our Koch-Young Resource Center (now at Brand Blvd. and our main Wilshire office). And most importantly, I welcome you to share your successes with me so that we at Lanterman Regional Center, can celebrate them alongside you.
Wishing you all a safe and enjoyable week.
My best,
Srbui