Respect-Ability Coalition

|D|Members of the RespectAbility Coalition shall be:

• Californiabased organizations, or California offices of national
organizations, whose missions explicitly include disability issues;

• Whose participation in the Coalition is approved by their governing body;

• Who agree to participate in actively in the work of the Coalition by
dedicating staff and resources commensurate with the size of the
organization;

• Who agree to designate an individual with authority to represent the
organization in regular Coalition meetings and events; and

• Who pay an annual fee based on ___% of the organization’s annual
budget.

Members wishing to join the Coalition after the initial meeting shall be voted on by the thenexisting membership and shall be offered admittance if agreed to by a majority of the members present/participating. Members may withdraw from the Coalition in writing. The Coalition will meet at least once annually in phone orin person.

If a member opts out of more than half the positions, programs, and activities of the Coalition in a year, the member may be removed from membership by majority vote of the membership.

Interested organizations who do not qualify as members may join as nonmember “Associates” by paying a fee of _______. Associates are not entitled to participate in the Executive Committee or to vote as members. Interested individuals may join as “Supporters.” Supporters are not entitled to participate in
the Executive Committee or to vote as members or to attend member meetings, but may receive information via internet and mail.

Below is a list of our current members:

 

• Asian Rehabilitation Services
• California Council of the Blind
• California Foundation of Independent Living Centers
• California Network of Mental Health Clients
• Disability Caucus of California
• Disability Rights Legal Center
• National Association of Law Students with Disabilities
• Protection & Advocacy, Inc.
• State of California Independent Living Council

 

Below are the members of our Executive Committee:

• Paula D.Pearlman , DRLC
• Liz Pazdral , SILC
• Catherine Blakemore, PAI
• Laurel Mildred, CNMHC
• Teresa Favuzzi, CFILC
• Mitch Pomerantz, CCB

The Coalition will have an Executive Committee of no more than ___ organizations who will manage the day-to-day operations of the Coalition and who will initially identify issues and propose positions and strategies to the full membership. The Executive Committee will meet at least quarterly (by phone or in person). No action shall be proposed to the full membership unless it is approved by a majority of the Executive Committee. If a member fails to attend two Executive Committee meetings, the member may be voted out of the Executive Committee by majority vote of the Executive Committee.

Budget & Expenses

The fees received from Coalition members shall be maintained by a member organization chosen by majority vote of the members. One or more organizations designated by a majority of the members may be authorized to seek grant funding to staff and cover other expenses of the Coalition. Expenditures on behalf of the Coalition shall be approved by a majority of the Coalition or may be delegated to one or more member organizations to approve. It is expected that funding will be sought for staffing, RespectAbility conferences, legislative advocacy, printing, and other expenditures of the Coalition.

Coalition Programs

Each position, program, or activity of the Coalition shall include a list of participating Coalition members. Members of the Coalition may participate in each position, program, or activity on an “optout” basis, meaning, each Coalition program will be proposed as a program of the full Coalition and members who do not agree with the program or position may request to be left out of the list of Coalition members for purposes of that position or program. If an organization does not opt out to the appropriate member of the Executive Committee, the member will be treated as a participating member of the Coalition.

It is expected that the Coalition will take positions on legislation and regulations, organize periodic RespectAbility Conferences, and create an internetbased means of communicating RespectAbility information to and receiving information from individuals and nonmember organizations.