2024-05-01 DEIA Commission Packet°F ED^'o�� AGENDA
Edmonds Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
& Accessibility Commission
Ins 1g9� Wednesday, May 1, 2024 1 6:OOPM-8:OOPM
HYBRID MEETING
The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility Commission members will be meeting in person and/or remotely for this
meeting. The public may join at the physical location or join through zoom.
PHYSICAL LOCATION:
Brackett Meeting Room, Edmonds City Hall — 3' Floor 1 121 5' Ave N, Edmonds, WA 98020
REMOTE MEETING/ZOOM INFORMATION:
httos://edmondswa-eov.zoom.us/i/98071999699?owd=Y59GTVdWM2VPTUtiROVXVm56NGIaUT09
Meeting ID: 980 7199 9699
Passcode: 963195
6:00 P.M. — Call to Order and Land Acknowledizement: "We acknowledge the original inhabitants of this place, the Sdohobsh
(Snohomish) people and their successors the Tulalip Tribes, who since time immemorial have hunted, fished, gathered, and taken
care of these lands. We respect their sovereignty, their right to self-determination, and we honor their sacred spiritual connection
with the land and water." - City Council Land Acknowledgment
1. Roll Call and Absences
2. Approval of Agenda
3. Approval of March 30, 2024 Retreat Summary & April 3, 2024, Summary (5 minutes)
4. Public Comment (3 minutes per speaker)
5. Youth Commission Update (5 minutes)
6. New Business:
a. Casey Davis — Food Bank (40 minutes)
b. Comprehensive Plan Economic Development Element Update (30 minutes)
7. Update from the City: Todd, Councilmember Eck, Megan (5 minutes)
8. Old Business:
a. Calendar Update — Rebecca (5 minutes)
b. Data Analysis Update (5 minutes)
c. Land acknowledgement Review (5 minutes)
9. Committee Updates:
a. Executive:
i. Event Date Review (Pride, 4t1' of July Parade...)
ii. Onboarding for new Commissioners
b. City Engagement & Policy
c. Community Engagement & Visibility
10. Commissioner's Corner (5 minutes)
Adjourn — 8:OOPM
Next meeting: Wednesday, June 5, 2024, at 6:OOPM
Guiding Principles
To ensure we meet our responsibilities as a Commission, we agree to:
• start and end our meetings on time
• demonstrate our respect for our fellow Commissioners, the City of Edmonds, and the citizens we represent by: being present, being prepared, actively
listening, participating in meetings, completing our individual assignments, and holding ourselves accountable
• "step up and step back"
• establish goals and action plans that are results oriented
• establish subcommittees as needed
• engage in courageous, honest, and open dialogue when faced with difficult issues or questions
• utilize the "Ouch Rule" (assume positive intent; resist the temptation to be offended)
• embrace the education opportunities presented through the Commission meetings
• strive to make decisions by consensus. In a case where consensus cannot be reached after a reasonable attempt has been made, the Chairperson may call
for a majority vote.
CITY OF EDMONDS
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSSION & ACCESSIBILTY
COMMISSION
RETREAT
MARCH 30, 2024
Meeting conducted via Zoom and in -person at the Plaza Room
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT
Elaine Helm, Co -Chair
Jessie Owen, Co -Chair
Pam Iverson via Zoom
Kim Gunning
Umrah Thomas
Rowan Soiset
Patty Narvaez-Wheeler
Councilmember Chris Eck, ex-officio
COMMISSIONERS ABSENT
Dipti Chrastka - excused
Rebecca Perrault - unexcused
STAFF PRESENT
Todd Tatum, Director
Megan Luttrell, Program Coordinator
10:05 A.M. — Call to Order and Land Acknowledgement: "We acknowledge the original
inhabitants of this place, the Sdohobsh (Snohomish) people and their successors the Tulalip
Tribes, who since time immemorial have hunted, fished, gathered, and taken care of these lands.
We respect their sovereignty, their right to self-determination, and we honor their sacred
spiritual connection with the land and water." - City Council Land Acknowledgment
1. Roll Call and Absences
Patty read land acknowledgment. Rebecca is an unexcused absence and Dipti is an excused
absence due to a work conflict.
2. Approval of Agenda
Elaine moved to approve the agenda, Jessie second; approved by consensus.
3. Public Comment (3 minutes per speaker) None.
DIVERSITY COMMISSION RETREAT AGENDA
Welcome — Elaine, Jessie & Michelle
AH HA moments from the prereading about DEIA Code:
• Our audience include politicians and elected officials
• Public partnerships
DRAFT Retreat Summary
Diversity Commission
March 30, 2024
Page 1
• The City is currently in a hiring chill, staffing is at the mayor's
discretion.
• The documents referred to supporting/challenging.
o Statewide changes in legislation are opportunities.
o Words racism and racial equity are not in the code/mission.
• Action, education, and guidance are in the code. KEY
DIRECTIVES
• The Commission website should host our code and the language needs to
be severely updated.
• We're required to submit an oral and written annual report to Council.
• Language could be more nuanced.
• Some wins
o Accessibility has been added to our name.
o Staff has added pronouns to signature.
o Section on language
Ice Breaker Exercise
Lay the Foundation
Review definitions
The Commission spent a few minutes reviewing the provided definitions in
an effort to be alignment during discussion.
Commissioner Capacity and Expectations
2 hours a month is Minimum ---4 15 hours a month max
• Expectation in Code says you must attend the monthly meeting
• 5 seems to be a realistic minimum.
• Sometimes these hours get conflated with other civic responsibilities.
• Make sure our time is used strategically, efficiently (meaning that you
are matched up to the proper task and note that identities might make
your volunteer hours more exhausting), use your gifts/talent.
** Note we cannot replace the DEIA Commission Coordinator's paid labor with volunteer work.
That would not be sustainable. Some things may have to go. Lean into being open to change.
Staff Roles
Director: focus on policy
Program Coordinator:
• Leadership team
• Work with Commission leadership to set agenda each month
• Onboard new Commissioners
• Grants/PR/Admin for grants program
• Work with theater for the film series.
• Coordinating announcements
DRAFT Retreat Summary
Diversity Commission
March 30, 2024
Page 2
• Vet applications for this commission.
DEIA Commission Coordinator:
• 10 hrs/week on DEIA projects.
• Film series.
• Newletter
• Social media
• Commission meeting minutes.
Mission — Commission Purpose
Vision — Define Aspirations
Lunch Break
Strategic 3-Year Plan
2024; 2025; 2026
Where do we want to be as a commission in 2026 and how to we use our
priorities to build the road map:
• Relationship building and engagement so that the commission has a
voice /impact in the city's long-term plans.
• Visibility in the community/and engagement
• Data to identify and support the communities who are most marginalized
and most impacted by changes (especially with upcoming budget
changes).
*Note: It would be great to have an activated and engaged community. Consistent, intentional
engagement. They constantly hear from people who don't necessarily center DEIA values.
We have a solid understanding of who the city is so that we can amplify the gaps.
Accessibility to information.
We have clarity on our 3 priorities that impact our most marginalized
communities.
Engaging the City
• Improved accessibility to information from the city and from the DEIA
Commission so that our community knows how to engage with both the
commission and the city.
• Our commission has a seat at the budget conversations, economic
development commissions, police dept., and other important decision -
making groups so that we can amplify our priorities.
• We are sought out as a thought partner by the counsel and other
commissioners.
Engaging Community/Visibility
• Build capacity in our community for understanding and apply
foundational DEIA principles so that we can influence elected officials.
o Going back to this activated community — consistent, intentional
engagement.
DRAFT Retreat Summary
Diversity Commission
March 30, 2024
Page 3
o Community -lead equity work
• We have relationships with (how many?) champions in marginalized
communities so that we can support each other.
Data: What are our three priorities?
• Can we point to what isn't equitable in our community/city?
• What can we pull them in to do?
• Measure our 2023 work to establish our baseline.
• Look at other DEIA commissions.
• USE the research already available to us. There is a lot of data that we
can pull from.
** Note, there is some administrative work that needs to be taken care should fit into the priorities
above and might need a time -limited ad hoc committee to lead them.
THESE ITEMS WILL BE DISCUSSED AT A FUTURE COMMISSION
MEETING
Commission Structure and Action Plan —
Committees — Assign Responsibilities
Calendar; Grant program; Film series; Book distribution plan;
Onboarding
Relationship Building
Wrap-up/closing
The group ended by sharing one word about how they felt about our year ahead.
Adjourn — 2:OOPM
Next meeting: Wednesday, April 3, 2024 at 6:OOPM
DRAFT Retreat Summary
Diversity Commission
March 30, 2024
Page 4
CITY OF EDMONDS
EDMONDS DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION &
ACCESSIBILITY COMMISSION
April 3, 2024
Meeting conducted via Zoom and in -person at the Brackett Meeting Room
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT
Jessie Owen, Co -Chair
Pam Iverson
Dipti Chrastka
Rebecca Perrault
Kim Gunning via Zoom
Umrah Thomas
Rowan Soiset
Patty Narvaez-Wheeler via Zoom
Councilmember Chris Eck, ex-officio
COMMISSIONERS ABSENT
Elaine Helm, Co -Chair - unexcused
GUESTS PRESENT
Desta Getachew
STAFF PRESENT
Todd Tatum, Director
Megan Luttrell, Program Coordinator
6:00 P.M. — Call to Order and Land Acknowledgement: "We acknowledge the original
inhabitants of this place, the Sdohobsh (Snohomish) people and their successors the Tulalip
Tribes, who since time immemorial have hunted, fished, gathered, and taken care of these lands.
We respect their sovereignty, their right to self-determination, and we honor their sacred
spiritual connection with the land and water." - City Council Land Acknowledgment
1. Roll Call and Absences: Dipti read the land acknowledgment. Elaine is an unexcused
absence.
2. Approval of Agenda: Rowan moved to approve the agenda; Pam seconded; approved by
consensus.
3. Approval of March 6, 2024 Summary: Rebecca moved to approve the summary; Pam
seconded; approved by consensus.
4. Public Comment (3 minutes per speaker):
5. Youth Commission Update: Not in attendance.
6. Update from the City: Todd, Megan, Councilmember Eck: Todd shares an update on
the Comprehensive Plan Update. There is an upcoming update to Council regarding the
growth alternatives. The Economic Development Commission (EDC) is collaborating and
recommending updates to the Economic Development Element goals. They would like to
get input from this Commission on the updates. Director McLaughlin would like to present
the documents for input and EDC would like to visit and get input also.
We've been working on grant applications to fund future Lunar New Year & Pride events.
Councilmember Eck was so impressed by the retreat and the commitment of this group.
She's asked Council President to review the land acknowledgment updates and it's now on
the Extend Agenda. Next Tuesday will be a special Council meeting to discuss only the
Draft Meeting Summary
DEIA Commission
April 3, 2024
Page 1
comp plan growth alternatives. Mike Bailey gave a presentation last night following the
Mayor's State of the City regarding the budget. The Mayor is creating a task force of
representatives from the Commissions to review the budgeting by priorities. Judge Whitney
Rivera was appointed by Gov. Inslee to Snohomish County Superior Court. Judge Rivera
gave a presentation last night regarding Community Court. EDC gave an update last night
as well. She feels there is an opportunity for the EDC and DEIA Commission to
collaborate.
7. Old Business:
a. Retreat debrief, takeaways, next steps: Jessie spent a few minutes going through
some notes from the retreat.
The mission statement in the Commission code is missing some key
language and it's worth reviewing and possibly updating.
Patty explains that her group came up with a three prong approach.
o Review a priority and find the bucket it lands in, D, E, I or A
o Equitable Engagement Framework and the Pros Plan are two
documents that have data and could guide priorities.
o What community does this target? And how does it loop with
DEIorA.
■ What priorities emerge organically? Sustain, expand
& grow, impact. Being open to letting something in
and/or let something go.
o Todd adds that we need to discuss how we start tackling
priorities at this meeting. How do we approach priorities?
o Identify resources that we have available. We have
qualitative data to analyze. Washington Kids in Transition
and Edmonds Food Bank could be good resources to come
share what they know about our community.
Rowan shares that their group talked about 4 things, 3 to act on.
o Where are the relationships we have in the City? Blue Ribbon
group, who do we know that could share info with us.
Relationship mapping.
o An event tracker/calendar — this would make it much easier to
track the happenings in the city.
■ Megan reached out to IT and there is SharePoint for
the Comission setup, Megan just needs direction on
how to share it with the group. IT is working on
putting together a shared calendar for the
Commission, the full Commission can add to it and
view It.
o Information access. A "how to" for Civic Engagement. Give
people a door into how to get involved. A nice overlap with
the Community Engagement goals. Have informational
handouts translated for how to participate in meetings, etc.
Draft Meeting Summary
DEIA Commission
April 3, 2024
Page 2
Make sure meetings are closed caption, ASL or physically
accessible.
Umrah shares that her group discussed community engagement,
visibility.
o Cross pollination with other organizations that are doing this
work.
o How do we capture and leverage knowledge from the
Commissioners.
o Reviewing the past recipients of the grants, specifically the
School District and reach out to see how they learned of the
grant program.
o Improve social media presence.
o Applying a DEIA lens internally, reviewing how we're
communicating, tone, etc. Make sure we follow our own
recommendations in how we're sharing information.
o DEIA training for electees and staff.
b. Commission structure:
i. Committees: Jessie shares the history of the committee structure.
1. Executive: Elaine, Jessie
The leadership team would partner together to identify priorities.
Rebecca suggests an Ad -Hoc data group to analyze the documents
that we have now, prior to diving into the committee work. She and
Dipti offer to dive into this.
Todd suggests having the Committee meet and review the data. It's
unlikely to be the last data review.
*Review data to set prioritization.
2. City Engagement & Policy: Rowan & Kim
3. Community Engagement & Visibility: Umrah, Pam & Sofia -
Marie
ii. Ad -Hoc Committees:
1. Film Series: Elaine, Umrah, Patty would like to join once the data
group finishes their big lift.
2. Grant Program: Pam, Dipti, Umrah
a. Pam moves that we move forward with grant $1000 for
the first part of the year; Rebecca seconded, motion
passes.
3. It's recommended that we add an ad -hoc Committee: "Data":
Rebecca, Dipti & Patty
iii. Committee Assignments:
1. Calendar — Rebecca will take a first look at this. What for the
Commission to participate in; heritage months; partner with
neighboring communities; proclamations.
2. Book Distribution Plan — Pam, Patty, Rowan would like to work on
this project in June as an ad -hoc.
Draft Meeting Summary
DEIA Commission
April 3, 2024
Page 3
3. Onboarding for new Commissioners — Will be addressed later.
c. Annual Report Update: Jessie shares that it's being actively worked on. Todd
suggests late June.
d. April 20' Film — The Farewell — Host: Rebecca can do the intro. Umrah can back-
up.
8. Commissioner's Corner (10 minutes): Patty asks how the Committee reports back, Jessie
explains how the Committee work has been presented in the past, it's flexible. Rebecca
explains that the EDC would like to get the Commission feedback for the Economic
Development Element goals. Kim mentions some new unhoused neighbors moved in to her
neighborhood this week and we need to think about how to engage this demographic.
Adjourn 8:03PM
Next meeting: May 1, 2024, at 6:OOPM
Draft Meeting Summary
DEIA Commission
April 3, 2024
Page 4