Home / Leadership & Founding Board
Help us seat the
founding board.
We are launching today — and we don't have a board yet. We are recruiting a distinguished founding Board of Directors (7–11 trustees) of residents, civic leaders, environmental experts, and business voices. Civic leaders, attorneys, accountants, and experienced nonprofit board members — if you care deeply about Mission Bay, we need you on the founding team.
Open call · Founding Board
7–11 trustees. One unified voice.
The founding Board is the most consequential thing we will assemble this year. The trustees we seat now will set the standards, write the bylaws, approve the strategic plan, and decide what kind of organization the Conservancy becomes. Strong governance from day one is non-negotiable.
We are looking for people who will show up, push back, and fund-raise. People who understand that the park belongs to the public and that our job is to be a community catalyst — not to take it over.
Board composition
Seats we are actively seeking.
The founding board will be 7–11 trustees. We are not filling slots — we are building a working board that will sit at City Council, secure 501(c)(3) status, and steward the launch through 2027.
Seat 01 · Chair
Founding Chair
Civic stature. Public-sector relationships. Comfortable with media. Sets meeting rhythm and represents the Conservancy in San Diego.
Seat 02 · Treasurer
CPA or finance veteran
Stand up the books, oversee audit, design financial transparency reports. Comfortable with nonprofit accounting.
Seat 03 · Secretary
Nonprofit-experienced attorney
Bylaws, governance, conflict-of-interest, minute-keeping. Pro-bono counsel on 501(c)(3) filing welcome.
Seat 04
Environmental expert
Wetlands, coastal resilience, or biology background. Helps shape our De Anza Natural and Coastal Resilience positions.
Seat 05
Master Plan / urban-planning voice
Experience leading or contributing to a major plan update. Coastal Commission familiarity a plus.
Seat 06
Business / leasehold voice
Park-adjacent business owner or operator. Connects the Conservancy to the working economy of the bay.
Seat 07
Community / youth-programs leader
Organizing experience. Track record of engaging diverse community groups and underrepresented neighborhoods.
Seat 08–11
At-large trustees
Resident voices, philanthropic leaders, communications professionals, additional environmental or legal expertise.
What we ask of trustees
The commitments are real.
We are not seating a ceremonial board. Trustees show up, vote, fund-raise, and are accountable to the public and to each other.
Time commitment
- Quarterly board meetings (4 / year, ~2 hrs each)
- Committee work (~3 hrs / month)
- Two public-facing events / year
- Two-year initial term · renewable
- Stand for re-election with term limits
Give-or-get expectation
- Personal financial contribution (any amount, must be meaningful to the trustee)
- Identify and connect 3+ prospects per year
- Help recruit volunteers and members
- Show up publicly — this is the unified voice
- Adhere to conflict-of-interest policy
Founder
Bradley Schnell
Founder · Mission Bay Park Conservancy
Bradley is a San Diego business leader and the owner of Mission Bay Beach Club. He sees what works in this park — and what doesn't — every single day, from the perspective of a leaseholder, employer, and neighbor. As a leaseholder, Bradley will recuse himself from any Conservancy decisions involving his business interests at Mission Bay Beach Club, consistent with the conflict-of-interest policy adopted by the founding Board.
"This park is important to me, to my business, to my customers, and to all of San Diego. Lease revenues from Mission Bay have helped fund broader City priorities while day-to-day maintenance here has accumulated deferred needs. We need a unified voice so that Mission Bay is not ignored or relegated. I'm starting this organization to advocate for everyone who depends on this park — to make appreciable progress that hasn't been done for years."
Bradley will serve as Founder and a founding trustee, but the Conservancy is being built so that no single person — including the founder — can speak for it alone. The founding Board is what makes the unified voice real.
Beyond the board
Pro-bono experts: we need you too.
We are building this from scratch. Pro-bono legal, financial, and nonprofit-management expertise unlocks early progress without spending donor dollars on overhead.
Pro-bono legal
501(c)(3) formation, bylaws, City special-use permit, and Coastal Commission engagement. Particularly useful: nonprofit, environmental, and real-estate counsel.
Pro-bono accounting
Initial books setup, audit prep, internal controls, and the public-transparency reporting we will publish quarterly.
Pro-bono nonprofit ops
Veterans of Central Park Conservancy, Forever Balboa Park, Trust for Public Land, or similar — help us avoid first-year mistakes.
Pro-bono communications
Storytelling, media relations, and digital outreach. Help us reach the San Diegans who haven't heard of us yet.
If this is you, step forward.
We are not looking for résumés. We are looking for people who care. Tell us a little about why Mission Bay matters to you, and what you'd contribute as a founding trustee or pro-bono expert. We will respond within a week.
The Mission Bay Park Conservancy is a citizen-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2026. Tax-exempt status pending. We do not yet have a governing board. We are actively recruiting a founding Board of Directors of 7–11 trustees.