August Task Force Meeting Summary

Date: August 20, 2025

Time: 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Location: Virtual - Microsoft Teams and Edina City Hall - Mayor's Conference Room

Task Force Member Attendance: Bianca Dawkins, Jasmine Stringer-Moore, Jan Stone

Task Force Members Absent: Jonathan Rogers

Staff In Attendance: Thomas Brooks, Zoe Johnson

Public Members in Attendance: No Public Members in attendance

1. Welcome & Introductions

2. Meeting Topic(s)

A. Task Force Discussion

Task force members discussed research conducted by member Stone evaluating the similarities and differences in other city DEI and Human Rights Commissions across the metro. The data leveraged for comparison was city ordinances, which member Stone mentioned were likely outdated. Many city human rights commissions are continuing to search for an updated scope, work plan, and purpose with the positive growth/changes in the human rights and equity landscape. Many cities, since 2020, have converted or developed new Equity Commissions to align community volunteer work with staff and council priorities and to address longstanding challenges with the evolution of human rights work at the local level.

Challenges with both the task force model and commission structure were discussed. For the task force structure, it lacks the accountability needed to keep members engaged long-term. Commissions are difficult for mobilizing and reacting with flexibility or urgency to challenges that arise in the community. The overlap with the work of the city’s Multicultural Advisory Committee (MAC) was discussed as the MAC is actively involved in policy discussions, programming in the community, and would be first to respond with city staff to significant human rights concerns within the city. A question was raised concerning the long-term sustainability of the MAC program to continue to meet those needs. The need was expressed to develop very clear scope and expectations for a future human rights advisory group or commission to be clear during recruitment what the city is needing from community volunteers.

B. Discussion Final Task Force Report

To prepare for the final report due from the task force to City Council in November 2025, the task force discussed the timeline for writing and editing the report. Staff proposed a draft to be edited electronically to be included in the September task force meeting discussion with final changes discussed at the October task force meeting. Task force members would like time to present and have a discussion with the city council in a work session, currently scheduled for November 4, 2025.

Staff will work on starting the report with significant contributions or edits needed from task force members.

3. Adjournment - 8:15pm

The next task force meeting is currently scheduled for September 17, 2025.

Task force members were invited to attend the September and October MAC meetings to meet the members and see how they work. Meeting invitations have already been sent.

A request was received to send updated email addresses to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights for their newsletter.