Nine people who are legally responsible for this.

Members

Members serve three-year terms, limited to two. The board must include at least one current or former STENCH parent, one licensed tradesperson, and one kid seat. Those three requirements are in the bylaws and were added after a 2017 board that had none of them and made a series of decisions about snack policy that were, in retrospect, absurd.

Committees

• Finance & audit — treasurer, two members, the ED. Reviews monthly statements, the annual audit, and the 990.
• Program & safety — reviews ratios, incident reports, curriculum changes, and the salon's sanitation audits. Meets with the program director monthly.
• Governance — nominates board members, runs the annual self-evaluation, reviews conflict-of-interest disclosures.
• Development — helps the development director open doors and closes exactly zero doors by being weird about it.

Meetings

The full board meets six times a year, on the second Tuesday of alternating months, 6:00–8:00 p.m., at the Hawthorne site and on video. Meetings are open to staff, volunteers, and enrolled families. Minutes are approved at the following meeting and are available on request; the finance summary is published in the annual report.

Board giving

Every board member gives or gets at least $1,000 annually, and 100% of the board gave in 2025. This is not because we need their money. It is because a board that will not fund the organization should not be setting its budget.

How to join

The governance committee recruits from the volunteer pool, the parent body, and — increasingly — from people who found us through the salon. We are actively looking for someone with real-estate or facilities experience before we sign a seventh lease. If that is you, write to the board chair.