Date: April 23, 2025

Time: 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Location: Online

Task Force Member Attendance: Jim Nelson, Bianca Dawkins, Elly Doscotch, Jan Stone

Task Force Members Absent: Jasmine Stringer-Moore, Jonathan Rogers, Pranika Kumar

Staff In Attendance: Thomas Brooks

Public Members in Attendance: No public members were in attendance

1. Welcome & Introductions – Co-Chair Dawkins

2. Co-Chair Appointment – 5 minutes

Co-chair Daisy Khalifa resigned from the task force on April 15^th but stated she is very supportive of the work of the task force and will continue to attend meetings as work and travel scheduling allow. Co-Chair Bianca Dawkins called for a new co-chair and Jim Nelson volunteered and selected as new co-chair.

3. Meeting Topic(s)

A. Staff Presentation – 20 minutes

Staff Liaison Thomas Brooks presented on Equity Framework Final Draft

Thomas presented on the Equity Framework Final Draft which was adopted by the Executive Leadership Team and Race Equity Advancement Team also on 4/23. The final content of the Equity Framework will be added to the final ESAP document. Staff will work with Communications on ensuring the information is accessible to both staff and the public. Input was received from staff stakeholders in addition to the HRE Task Force. Task force members provided good insight into ensuring the document did not include “othering” language and centered community as well as staff.

Feedback was provided that the term partner should be further clarified and the term heritage within the Vision statement should be revisited.

B. Staff Presentation – 25 minutes

Staff Liaison, Thomas Brooks presentation on DIA Gap Report Analysis

Thomas Brooks presented on the results of the DIA Gap Report including demographic information collected in aggregate as well as the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities identified through the results of the 8 dimensions in the Diamond Inclusiveness Assessment (DIA).

• Natural Environment, most closely connected to Environmental Sustainability, was identified as the organization’s strength
• Built Environment, most closely connected to the City’s physical facilities, was identified as the organization’s weakness (most dimension of opportunity), as it had the largest percentages of disagreement among staff and community members.
• Human Development, most closely connected in investing in people – staff and community, was identified as the area of opportunity with potentially the most impact for change, based on the needs of the organizations, other strategic initiatives, and DIA results indicating higher percentages of disagreement and “I don’t knows” between both staff and community.

City staff leaders determined on 4/23 to focus on developing strategic priorities for Built Environment and Human Development. Within those two dimensions, staff project teams are being formed to develop SMART goals and project plans to achieve the following statements (or a variation of):

• Built Environment: “This organization’s spaces accommodate different cultural needs and includes easy-to-see and understand wayfinding signate throughout its space.”
• Human Development: “This organization uses demographically diverse data and input from people involved in or affected by the organization to meet its mission for all residents, community members, visitors, program participants, and employees.”

Next Steps: The identified SMART goals by city staff will be communicated to task force members in May for consideration and feedback. The task force is scheduled to receive a presentation on the final report at the June task force meeting.

4. Final Updates & Adjournment

Next Meeting is May 21st and will be held at Edina Public Works to discuss the Board and Commission Experience Survey Results.

Date: March 20, 2025

Time: 7:00 PM to 8:45 PM

Location: Edina Public Works and Online

Task Force Member Attendance: Jim Nelson, Jasmine Stringer-Moore, Bianca Dawkins, Jonathan Rogers, Elly Doscotch, Pranika Kumar, Jan Stone

Task Force Members Absent: Daisy Khalifa, Fartun Ismail

Staff In Attendance: Thomas Brooks, Zoe Johnson, MJ Lamon

Public Members in Attendance: No public members were in attendance

1. Welcome & Introductions – Co-Chair Dawkins

2. ESAP Update – 5 minutes

Task force members were provided an update by staff on the Equity Framework and Diamond Inclusiveness Assessment of the Equity Strategic Action Plan (ESAP) process. Approximately 360 survey responses were received from staff and community members. The task force will have an opportunity to discuss the results at the April 23^rd meeting.

The Equity Framework is drafted and under review by the Executive Leadership Team and Race Equity Advancement Team. Task force members were asked and provided feedback on the city’s Equity Commitments, a section of the framework. The task force will also have the opportunity review and discuss the Equity Framework at the April 23^rd meeting.

3. Meeting Topic(s)

A. Staff Presentation – 15 minutes

Staff Liaison Thomas Brooks presented on Exploring Alternate Human Rights Commissions

This presentation reviewed other Minnesota cities with current Human Rights Commissions and the trend toward Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Commissions since 2020. The trend to move toward DEI related commissions has been to align with city strategic initiatives, including the work of DEI leaders. Limitations to a commission’s ability to investigate human rights violations was also discussed in relation to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights who has investigative authority by statute.

B. Staff Presentation – 45 minutes

Staff Liaison, Thomas Brooks and MJ Lamon, Special Projects and Engagement Manager presented on research outcomes of a consultant engagement project on the City of Saint Louis Park boards and commissions and alternative methods. The consultants of the study provided an overview of stakeholder feedback regarding participation barriers and concerns and provided alternative engagement structures to commissions that address the identified barriers.

• 10 Challenge Areas were identified through stakeholder engagement including:
  • We want to help and we see value
  • We don’t know what we’re supposed to be doing
  • We get mixed messages
  • We fell disconnected
  • We don’t see our impact
  • Staff are supportive but do not have capacity
  • Lack of cohesion/consistency across commissions
  • It’s who you know…and you don’t know us
  • Participation is not easy (open meeting law)
  • Systems are not in place to sufficiently support

• Alternative commissions structures were discussed including:
  • Continuing with the existing structures
  • Engagement without commission structures
  • Task forces based on strategic projects
  • Strategic Priority Based Commissions
  • A Single Strategic Board
  • Group Discussion – 20 to 25 minutes
  • What are your thoughts on the St. Louis Park study?
  • With limited resources, we can’t do everything—but we can be strategic. When we talk about expanding engagement, what aspects are most important? What challenges are important to overcome? Deepening Our Understanding: What Next?
  • What does a new model look like?

Task force members spent most of the discussion time emphasizing the importance of structure for public participation, including commissions. The importance of cross-collaboration as well as the many challenges with collaborating in a commission structure were discussed.

4. Final Updates & Adjournment:

Task force members were advised an experience survey will be sent to all current and former commissioners in March. Task force members will have an opportunity to review the survey and provide feedback before it is sent and will have a meeting dedicated to reviewing the results.

Next Meeting is April 23rd and will be held online to discuss the Equity Framework and Diamond Inclusiveness Assessment survey results.

Date: February 19, 2025

Time: 7:00 PM to 8:45 PM

Location: Edina City Hall – Community Room

Task Force Member Attendance: Jim Nelson, Jasmine Stringer-Moore, Bianca Dawkins, Jonathan Rogers, Elly Doscotch, Pranika Kumar, Jan Stone

Task Force Members Absent: Daisy Khalifa, Fartun Ismail

Staff in Attendance: Thomas Brooks, Zoe Johnson, MJ Lamon, Jessica Connors

Public Members in Attendance: No public members were in attendance

1. Welcome & Introductions

2. Confirm Task Force 2nd Co-Chair – Bianca Dawkins – 5 minutes

Bianca Dawkins was confirmed and congratulated as a co-chair with Daisy Khalifa by the task force.

3. ESAP Update – 5 minutes

Task force members were reminded to complete the Diamond Inclusiveness Assessment (DIA) survey by February 28th. The task force will discuss the results in an upcoming meeting on April 23rd.

4. Meeting Topic(s)

4.1 Staff Presentation – 30 minutes

Jessica Connors – Community Liaison – Joint Community Police Partnership to present on role in the city and the Multicultural Advisory Committee

Jessica Connors provided an overview of the Joint Community Police Partnership between Edina and Hennepin County. Information was provided to the commission about the Community Liaison role, community programming for youth, adults, and mothers, and work of the Multicultural Advisory Committee (MAC) to build trust and get

community input on policy, human rights concerns and offenses in community, and create programming opportunities.

4.2 Staff Presentation – 30 minutes

MJ Lamon – Special Projects and Engagement Manager to present an overview of the City’s current engagement methods and techniques

MJ provided a presentation which included an overview of all (or most) existing engagement efforts in the City of Edina, including types of engagement methods used, engagement values and best practices, IAP2 principles and the public participation spectrum. Information was provided about the different types of boards, commissions, task forces, neighborhood associations, and other engagement groups within Edina.

5. Group Discussion – 20 to 25 minutes

5.1 Rethinking Engagement: What Resonated Most?

5.2 Breaking Barriers: Expanded Participation

5.3 Deepening Our Understanding: What Next?

Task force members requested data related to housing demographics, voter engagement, and Edina’s engagement with the BIPOC business community. Takeaways from the meeting were to find opportunities to expand engagement to students in the high school leveraging clubs and advisory hour, including promoting the commission opportunities, which many students still do not know about and some barriers to participation were discussed.

6. Final Updates & Adjournment

Task force members were advised an experience survey will be sent to all current and former commissioners in March. Task force members will have an opportunity to review the survey and provide feedback before it is sent and will have a meeting dedicated to reviewing the results.

Next Meeting is March 19th at 7:00P at Edina Public Works to discuss Alternative Engagement Methods and Commission Considerations

City of Edina community members are invited to participate in a survey to help the City of Edina prioritize our work. The Diamond Inclusiveness Assessment (DIA) is a survey tool which evaluates the City’s culture and operational functions through the lens of inclusion. It is the City’s goal to ensure Edina is a place where all want to come and belong, both city staff and community. Your feedback on this survey will highlight where the City of Edina is performing well and where there are opportunities to improve. The City is in the development process of an Equity Strategic Action Plan (ESAP) through the first half of 2025, to identify two areas of improvement to focus on over the next 18-24 months by leveraging data and engagement to improve the efficiency and accessibility of processes and any related policies.

Survey Information

The survey is approximately 64 questions and should take about 15 minutes to complete. Survey responses are anonymous and will only be reported in aggregate form with all tabulated responses. Please complete this survey no later than Friday February 28, 2025.

DIA Survey Link

Date: January 15, 2025

Time: 7:00 PM

Location: Edina City Hall – Community Room

Task Force Member Attendance: Daisy Khalifa, Jim Nelson, Jan Stone, Jasmine Brett Stringer-Moore, Bianca Dawkins

Task Force Members Absent: Jon Rogers, Fartun Ismail, Elly Doscotch, Pranika Kumar

Staff In Attendance: Thomas Brooks, MJ Lamon

Public Members in Attendance: Helen Ferraro

1. Welcome

2. Meeting Topic(s)

3. Task Force Member Orientation

3.1 Staff provided an overview of task forces including a background of city operations and values, task force communication guidelines, and meeting expectations. The task force was reminded of the task force charge, membership, and deliverables which include a report with recommendations to council by November 2025.

3.2 Equity Strategic Action Plan Update (ESAP)

Staff provided an update on the ESAP, which officially kicked off the same day, January 15. An overview of the process, including the Equity Framework, Diamond Inclusiveness Assessment survey for staff and community, and the ESAP document was provided. Task force members to be invited to participate in the DIA survey and de-briefing sessions with staff to learn of the survey results.

3.3 Task Force Meeting Scheduling

Staff walked through the proposed schedule of meeting dates, locations, and topics. Staff were asked to consider rescheduling the April-June meetings due to commissioner scheduling conflicts or holidays. Most task force meetings fall on the 3^rd Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM, locations vary.

4. Discussion

What are you most looking forward to in the task force this year?

Any concerns with the time commitment?

There were no concerns provided by task force members related to the time commitment. Task force members mentioned looking forward to meeting additional staff throughout this process, learning from research and similar exploration in other cities, and being open to the unknown in upcoming discussions. Staff noted looking forward to increased flexibility, trying out new methods of engagement, aligning the work of community with staff and city equity and inclusion priorities, and creating a more comfortable and informal space where staff and community can show up and more deeply discuss topics and challenges related to equity, inclusion, and human rights in Edina.

5. Additional Action

5.1 Task Force Co-Chair Appointment

Task Force members voted Daisy Khalifa and Jonathan Rogers to serve as co-chairs, as both were former Human Rights and Relations Commission Chair and Vice Chair. Staff needed to follow up with Jonathan Rogers to confirm acceptance of co-chair position.

6. Adjournment

The meeting ended at approximately 8:15 PM.

Edina, Minn., Dec. 12, 2024 – To allow members more flexibility and increase engagement with the community, the City’s Human Rights and Relations Commission will operate as an ad hoc task force beginning next month.

The City Council recently approved the change at the group’s request, removing the Commission from the City Code. This means it can now work as a task force, allowing members to dive deeper into projects with an intentional focus on changes that align with the City’s ongoing equity and inclusion efforts. As a task force, the group has three priorities: support City staff in the development of an Equity Strategic Action Plan, advise the City on any significant human rights or inclusion issues in the community in 2025, and create more opportunities to connect and engage with the community. The task force is expected to draft a report for the City Council before the end of 2025 summarizing its work and any recommendations for future action.

Current commissioners will serve on the task force. Members of the community are invited to participate in task force meetings and discussions evaluating and discussing the future of equity and engagement efforts. The group’s first meeting has been tentatively set for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15. It and future meeting dates will be posted on the City’s calendar.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Manager Thomas Brooks will continue to serve as staff liaison to the group. For more information on the work of the task force, contact Brooks at thbrooks@EdinaMN.gov or 952-826-1622.