April Task Force Meeting Summary

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.