City of Santa Fe Women's Commission met June 16.
Here are the minutes provided by the commission:
1. CALL TO ORDER
2. ROLL CALL
Members Present:
Voting Member Olivia Sloan
Voting Member Candice Flint
Voting Member Araseli Varela
Voting Member Gabriela Schwenker
Voting Member Vickie Gabin
Voting Member Carla Bachechi
Members Excused:
Voting Member Sascha Anderson
Voting Member Fatima Van Hattum
Voting Member Kate Cleaver
Others Attending:
Anna Cale, Clerk
3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
a. Approval of June 9, 2021 meeting minutes
Agenda lists incorrect date for upcoming meeting
MOTION: moved, seconded by , to Motion to approve minutes made by Olivia, seconded by Gabriela, approved by Candice, Vickie and Araseli declined to vote.
VOTE: The motion was on the following Roll Call vote:
For: None
Against: None
Abstain: None
5. PRESENTATION
a. Land acknowledgement: We are respectfully convening on the original pueblo land of the Ogaa Po Ogeh – occupied Tewa territory currently known as Santa Fe, NM. We pay respect to the Native land and the elders, past, present and future. Thank you. (Valeria Alarcón, VIA Consulting LLC.)
6. ACTION ITEMS
a. Discuss and Approve: Vision and Mission Statements (Valeria Alarcón, VIA Consulting LLC.)
Val: Presentation of vision and mission statements crafted at previous meeting.
Group reviewed the statements with some suggestions for adjustments. Candice noted that use of the word “support” should be clarified as it may be interpreted to mean that the commission will be financially supporting community organizations. Val said that she interpreted “support” based on previous conversations with the commission to mean “amplification” or supporting the cause in a non-financial manner. Araseli agreed with Candice that another word would be better and offered “collaborate” or “partner” as alternatives. The group agreed that this is an acceptable change.
Vickie expressed concern that the group may be approached by organizations in the community and the group should set a vetting strategy to address this. Candice agreed that this could be something to think about in the future and the group can plan for this as opportunities occur. Araseli said that potential partners should also have a mission and set of values that are in alignment with those of the women’s commission. The group agreed. Carla joined at 5:58pm
Mission: “The mission of the Women’s Commission is to advance gender equity in social, health, environmental, economic and political systems in the City of Santa Fe, in order for women and girls to thrive personally and professionally. The Commission’s work will use an intersectional lens that centers historical injustices, diverse voices, and the lived experiences of women and girls to guide its work. The Commission will identify opportunities to improve the City of Santa Fe’s policies and programs. The Commission will work in collaboration with the community advocates and organizations to identify community needs and inform its work.”
Araseli motion to approve, Vickie seconded the motion and all members voted to approve.
b. Discuss and Approve: Core Values and Guiding Principles (Valeria Alarcón, VIA Consulting LLC.)
Val: Presentation of Core Values based on notes from previous meetings and values identified. Presentation included Guiding Principles to guide the work of the Commission.
Candice noted that the Guiding Principles repeatedly mentioned “community” but the resolution specified a focus on internal City processes and programs. The group agreed that this distinction needs to be made to include both internal City systems and workers as well as the larger community. Edits were made to reflect this.
The group reviewed the guiding principles of the Children and Youth Committee and decided to adopt most of those principles with some edits and additions.
Key elements include: connection, inclusiveness, compassion, gender equity, honoring our elders, honoring lived experiences, intersectionality, innovation, accountability, transparency, integrity
The group discussed each of the key elements and how to build the guiding principles around those elements.
As stated in previous meetings, there’s a need for a set of definitions, particularly for certain words that are not part of the lay-person’s vocabulary. “Intersectionality” is a word that needs to be defined.
Fatima who was absent during this meeting may be able to provide some assistance in creating the definitions.
The group agreed to postpone a vote on the guiding principles until Fatima can help to define or reword “intersectionality”
7. DISCUSSION ITEMS
a. Facilitated Discussion: Confirming short and long term goals of the Women’s Commission (Valeria Alarcón, VIA Consulting LLC)
Val: Presentation of short term (1-2 years) goals that have been compiled from previous Commission meetings.
ATTEND VIRTUALLY
Goals fell into a few categories: research and analysis of internal and community need, family leave, creating opportunity for community input, childcare stipends, establishment of a racial and gender justice equity office internally
Candice expressed concern that some of these goals may be too lofty for the timeframe of 1-2 years and setting goals that can’t be met in this timeframe isn’t a good idea.
The group agreed to move some items to the “long term” and focus more on the areas of listening and learning from City internal employees and other community members to find out more about what the needs are in Santa Fe and identify areas for future focus. The group also felt that this short term goal better aligned with the goals of the resolution.
8. MATTERS FROM STAFF
9. MATTERS FROM THE COMMITTEE
10. MATTERS FROM THE CHAIR
11. NEXT MEETING: June 30 2021
12. ADJOURN
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