The PBHA Board of Trustees, a 20-member group of students, community members, Harvard administrators and alums, officially approved Corbin's selection. A subset of this committee— made up of the current and past PBHA student president and vice presidents, Dean of Public Service Judith Kidd and Bradshaw Professor of Public Policy and Management at the KSG and PBHA trustee Mary Jo Bane—narrowed the candidates down and made their final decision on April 29.

Their search for an executive director focused on finding a candidate that would carry out PBHA’s mission, develop fundraising and work equally well with all PBHA “stakeholder groups,” Fonseca-Sabune said, including community members, students and administrators.

In the end, she said, Corbin was an ideal choice.

A native Texan, Corbin received an undergraduate degree in Sociology from Stephen F. Austin in 1984 and holds a Master of Divinity from Southern Seminary.

Maria J. Dominguez has been acting as the interim executive director since Paul A. McDonald, left the post last October to become director of development at The Cotting School in Lexington, Mass.

The position of PBHA executive director was created in 1997 as part of an agreement between PBHA and Harvard College to provide better accountability for the group. As executive director, McDonald bridged the gap between students and staff at PBHA, a student-run organization that is professionally supported.

Though he does not start until the summer, Corbin has already been a ubiquitous presence at PBHA, regularly attending meetings and interacting with students, said Fonseca-Sabune.

—Staff writer Faryl W. Ury can be reached at ury@fas.harvard.edu.