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CA's RCOC Keeps
Board Diverse
Business Wire - 8/3/2012
SANTA ANA, Calif.-- Regional Center of Orange County (RCOC) announced that Peter Kuo of Irvine and Palak Shah of Placentia have been elected to its board of directors, each for a one-year term through July 2013. Both men have developmental disabilities and receive services from the Regional Center.
The addition of Palak and Peter to our Board supports our responsibility to have a board that is diverse and reflects a variety of perspectives and experiences,” said RCOC Board Chair Tresa Oliveri. “We are particularly enthusiastic about the insights they will bring to Board efforts to expand opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities to obtain paid employment.”
Peter Kuo, who has worked as an engineer/scientist for Northrop Grumman for the past 15 years, was born in Vietnam and came to the United States as a child in 1980. He has cerebral palsy and uses a communications device to speak. At Northrop Grumman, he is active in the company’s disability awareness committee, providing input for training other employees to work effectively with co-workers with disabilities. Prior to working in Northrop Grumman’s space technology sector, he spent two years with Western Digital. Kuo graduated with high honors from UC Irvine.
Palak Shah, whose disabilities include spina bifida, came to the United States with his family from India. As a child there, he received no help for his disabilities. It is his gratitude for the services and supports he receives here that inspired him to serve on the Board and give back to the community. Shah uses a wheelchair and has always enjoyed helping others with disabilities. In junior high, he helped out in the special education class, and provided assistance to visually impaired students when he attended Fullerton Community College.
About Regional Center of Orange County
Regional Center of Orange County is the private, nonprofit organization contracted by the State of California to coordinate services and supports for the 17,000 Orange County residents with developmental disabilities and their families. Developmental disabilities include autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and intellectual disabilities. RCOC’s board of directors is composed entirely of volunteers.