Mahboob Akhter Appointed to Board of Governors of Saddleback College Foundation
It isn’t often that public service is recognized but it is a joyful moment when it is. Mr Mahboob Akhter was appointed to the Board of Governors of Saddleback College Foundation (http://www.saddleback.edu/foundation. The nomination was made by The Honorable Gary Capata, former Mayor of Laguna Niguel in California. Mr Akhter will be serving a three-year term on the Board. He has been serving on the Board since August 2014. Since then he has been appointed to the Strategic Planning and Finance Committees. He is closely working with the College’s Business School on entrepreneurship program.
The Foundation is a 501(C)3 organization chartered to establish to promote Saddleback College and its programs. The Governors represent the college in the community, promote its programs and help boost the image of college and community college education in general. The Governors will also develop a strategic plan for the Foundation and will be fully responsible for its fiscal affairs. The funds raised by the Foundation support infrastructure projects and scholarship programs at Saddleback College.
“I am humbled to be called upon to serve on the Foundation’s board. It will give me a chance to be part of strategic development of the Foundation aligned with Saddleback College itself; it will also be a great experience for me to know how academic institutions and associated foundations plan strategically. I also plan to align social services with student needs to help increase graduation outcomes”, said Mr. Akhter.
Mr Akhter also serves on the Board of Directors of 2-1-1 Orange County (www.211oc.org); a national organization with operational units which run on a county basis – 2-1-1 Orange County being one example. 2-1-1 Orange County is to non-emergency health and social services what 9-1-1 is to emergency services. Its mission is to “connect Orange County's most vulnerable with the health and human service resources they need.” 211OC serves all citizens of Orange County
In 2012 Mr Akhter served as Chairman of the Board of 2-1-1 Orange County. One of the achievements during his tenure was to identify and execute a merger with Orange County Partnership – an umbrella organization which serves in the homeless arena. This resulted in a much larger organization with broader charter for homeless services in Orange County. 211OC is one of the key partners of Orange County’s Ending Homelessness 2020 Plan.
“I have been involved in volunteer services at small community level for many years. 2-1-1 Orange County gave me a chance to help build an organization and be involved at a much larger scale. Imagine that 211OC’s reach is 3.2 million citizens of the county and we have an organization which is accessible to all. It is a privilege to be in a serving position”, said Mr Akhter.
