Meet a Board Member: Harlan Diven
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My name is Harlan Diven, and I use they/them pronouns. I grew up in Modesto and happily found my way back to my hometown a couple of years ago. Coming home to the Central Valley has meant reconnecting with the community that shaped me and getting more intentional about how I show up for it.
By day, I'm a lawyer. I work as Deputy General Counsel for California Rural Legal Assistance, a statewide nonprofit that provides free legal services to low-income and rural communities across California. Outside of that, I stay connected to local advocacy, because the communities I come from and care about are worth fighting for.
My relationship with HAVEN goes back further than my board seat. I first came to HAVEN as a client at 20 years old, and by my early twenties I was volunteering and then working here. I've always tried to stay in contact with HAVEN. That's more than twenty-five years of relationship with this organization, and I am grateful for HAVEN and its impact on my life every single day. That history is part of why sitting on this board means what it does to me.
**Why HAVEN?**
Because the work is real. There's no abstraction here. HAVEN shows up for people at some of the most difficult moments of their lives, and it does that work with dignity and care. As a queer person who understands what it means to navigate systems that weren't built with you in mind, I have deep respect for organizations that center the people most often left out. HAVEN does that.
What resonates with me about HAVEN's mission is its wholeness. It's not just crisis response — it's education, prevention, community relationships, long-term change. Ending domestic violence and sexual assault isn't something you do in a single intervention; it's something you build toward, together, over time. I believe in that kind of sustained commitment. It's the same reason I do the legal and advocacy work I do.
I'm proud to serve on this board, and I'm grateful to the colleagues, staff, and volunteers who regularly remind me why this work matters. This community has given me so much, and I'm always glad to connect; please don't hesitate to reach out.