Youth Commission

1 2 MINUTES OF A MEETING OF A REGULARLY SCHEDULED 3 YOUTH COMMISSION MEETING 4 VILLAGE OF NORTHBROOK 5 COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS 6 August 17, 2016 7 “Lead, Serve, Shine” 8 9 Adult Commissioners Present (7) 10 Carla Slawson-Martens, Chairperson 11 Gary Moriello 12 David Whitlock 13 Kay Ellen Stein 14 Kelli Christenson 15 Jodie Dinelli 16 Emmeline Hazaray 17 18 Student Commissioners Present (7) 19 Lucia Bosacoma 20 Nelson Bosacoma 21 Joey Martens 22 Emily Sedlak 23 Samuel Shin 24 Eli Traub 25 Hannah Whitlock 26 27 Adult/Student Commissioners Absent (7) 28 Bianca Osinski 29 Brandon Mankoff 30 Danny Brodson 31 Jessica Bresler 32 Zainab Ahmed 33 Kieley Anderson 34 Cecilia Calise 35 36 Village Staff Present (3) 37 Jason Batalden, Staff Liaison 38 Sarah Gianni, Staff Liaison 39 Gale Cerabona, Recorder 40 41 1. Call to Order 42 Chairperson Slawson-Martens called the meeting to order in the Terrace Room of Village Hall, 1225 43 Cedar Lane, at 7:04 p.m. A quorum was present. 44 45 2. Welcome 46 Everyone was welcomed to tonight’s YC Meeting. 47 48 3. Approval of Meeting Minutes  Page 2 Minutes of the August 17, 2016 Youth Commission Meeting 1 Commissioner Moriello moved, seconded by Commissioner Whitlock, to approve the YC meeting 2 minutes of May 18, 2016. On a voice vote, the motion unanimously carried. 3 4 4. Hear from the Audience 5 There was no Hear from the Audience. 6 7 5. Introduction of New Commissioners & New Liaison 8 All Commissioners and Liaisons introduced themselves and shared brief backgrounds. 9 10 Chairperson Slawson-Martens thanked Staff Liaison Batalden for all he has done for the YC; everyone 11 applauded. 12 13 6. Discussion of Youth Commission Strategy 14 Chairperson Slawson-Martens stated the forum for tonight’s meeting will be to: 15  Get to know each other 16  Learn the purpose, vision, and mission 17  Create a plan and assign responsibilities 18 19 She stated the YC will institute a calendar with role and responsibilities. 20 21 Staff Liaison Gianni distributed a “Youth Voices” flyer. Chairperson Slawson-Martens shared the 22 following of the YC: 23  Mission To serve as a “voice” for Northbrook Village Youth 24 Why – does the YC exist 25  Purpose The Northbrook YC will create opportunities to elevate, encourage, and amplify 26 the opinions and suggestions of local youth 27 How – will the YC function 28  Vision Northbrook young people will feel more connected and empowered (and better 29 equipped to be adult citizens) if they have a voice in their community’s political 30 arena; AND the Northbrook community will be improved by listening, engaging, 31 and being inspired by its youth voices 32 Future – of the YC 33 34 Chairperson Slawson-Martens stated a designer created the logo. She advised she met with the Chair of 35 the Community Relations Commission/CRC to begin creating partnerships. 36 37 Chairperson Slawson-Martens advised that Commissioner Brodson was the leader at the July 4th parade; 38 1,000 flyers were distributed there. 39 40 Chairperson Slawson-Martens noted that in the first semester, the YC will work with (and hire) staff 41 from the Institute of Civility (a non-profit organization based in TX) to create an awareness and learn: 42  tools and rules of civility 43  how to effectively dialog with others 44  how to bring forth others’ opinions to the public sphere 45  invite other GBN student leaders to participate  Page 3 Minutes of the August 17, 2016 Youth Commission Meeting 1 Chairperson Slawson-Martens stated the YC will also partner with GBN’s Student Advisory Board. 2 Commissioner L. Bosacoma described this open forum/group. 3 4 Chairperson Slawson-Martens advised the Institute of Civility group typically conducts a 4-hour 5 workshop. She noted facilitators would come to the YC, provide education, etc. As this is $50 per person, 6 other entities may join in. This Commission would learn how to lead in public settings, act in public 7 youth situations, etc. When tools are shared, the more effective the YC will be. When disseminating 8 tools to our partners, the YC will be creating a culture. 9 10 Commissioner Hazaray advised the YC will also listen to others. Chairperson Slawson-Martens concurred 11 that active listening is key. 12 13 Chairperson Slawson-Martens asked that Commissioners: 14  attend at least 1 Village Board meeting (in person, via live stream, on the NCTV channel 17, or 15 via videotape); Trustee Bob Israel is the YC’s Board Liaison. Staff Liaison Gianni distributed 16 information on how to navigate the Village web site. She advised of upcoming Board Meetings: 17 o September 13 and 27 18 o October 25 19 o November 15 20 o December 13 21  attend a Community Relations Commission/CRC meeting (first Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. 22 in the Civic Room at the Northbrook Public Library). Chairperson Slawson-Martens reminded all 23 of the Commission meetings are public. 24  brainstorm various topics for a public Forum. The YC will encourage one topic annually (on 25 multi-cultural issues, depression, bullying, stress, drugs, technology overload, etc.) 26  help increase Membership. It is suggested each Commissioner bring 1-2 people to potentially 27 become YC members by December, 2016 28  attend a Student Advisory Meeting 29 30 Chairperson Slawson-Martens reiterated these are the goals and thoughts for the first semester. 31 32 Commissioner Whitlock asked about an ultimate goal of sharing YC ideas with the Village Board. 33 Chairperson Slawson-Martens advised this is slated for the second semester. It was stated the YC could 34 present to the Village Board, host a meeting at the YMCA, partner with the CRC to have a Youth Voice. 35 Commissioner Moriello suggested starting small and growing. Staff Liaison Gianni recommended a 36 discussion with youth be presented to the Village Board; other YC members agreed. 37 38 Staff Liaison Gianni suggested a guest, Sara Rahim, Program Development for World Learning (based in 39 Washington, DC) could Skype into a YC meeting. She noted Ms. Rahim teaches an Islam 101 class, works 40 with InterFaith youth, etc. It was suggested she work with the YC to help with local schools, etc. 41 42 Chairperson Slawson-Martens stated there is range of youth, civil voice scenarios/movements taking 43 place; seek the internet for further information. She suggested the YC could tie in with Student 44 Government Day. 45  Page 4 Minutes of the August 17, 2016 Youth Commission Meeting 1 Commissioner Moriello moved, seconded by Commissioner Traub, to adopt this calendar for the YC. 2 Commissioner Whitlock stated he heartily endorses the motion. On a voice vote, the motion 3 unanimously carried. 4 5 Chairperson Slawson-Martens reminded the new members must complete a YC application. She shared 6 the upcoming YC meeting schedule: 7  September 21 8  October 19 9  November 16 10  December 21 11 12 Commissioners offered suggestions/topics for the annual Forum: 13  Commissioner N. Bosacoma 14 o get involved with GBN activities, sports. Chairperson Slawson-Martens reminded the 15 YC’s goal will be that Northbrook’s youth have a voice. She stated the challenge is how 16 to extend that voice. 17 o promote awareness in the community (Student Advisory meetings and beyond) 18  Commission Traub 19 o YC could amplify the groups that have missions; donate culturally 20 o promote significant talents to inspire youth 21  Staff Liaison Batalden 22 o CRC promoted itself in the past; could involve a youth component 23 24 7. Old Business 25 There was no Old Business 26 27 8. New Business 28 Commissioner Whitlock suggested the Village web site list the Adult and Youth YC members. 29 Chairperson Slawson-Martens recommended the Mission, Vision be added as well. 30 31 9. Discussion of Commission Communication Methods 32 Chairperson Slawson-Martens asked if a text or email reminder should be sent for YC meetings. 33 Commissioner Whitlock stated viewing/using GBN email addresses. Student Commissioners 34 documented their email addresses for Staff Liaison Gianni. Chairperson Slawson-Martens concluded that 35 email will continue as the YC’s method of communication. 36 37 10. Hot Topics 38 Local happenings are: 39  Homecoming 40  First day of school – August 22 41 42 Chairperson Slawson-Martens suggested YC members think about a date when they will: 43  view a Village Board Meeting 44  bring a potential YC candidate to a future YC meeting 45 46  Page 5 Minutes of the August 17, 2016 Youth Commission Meeting 1 11. Next Meeting 2 The next YC meeting is scheduled for September 21, 2016 3 4 12. Adjournment 5 Commissioner J. Martens moved, seconded by Commissioner L. Bosacoma, to adjourn the meeting at 6 8:07 p.m. On a voice vote, the motion unanimously carried. 7 8 Commissioner L. Bosacoma offered to be Student Chair at the next meeting. 9 10 Respectfully Submitted, 11 12 13 14 Gale Cerabona 15 Recorder