CommUNITY Alliance

STERLING HEIGHTS CommUNITY Alliance Minutes of Wednesday, January 18, 2023 Meeting Location: City Hall Members Present: Stacy Bahri, Cindy Bjornson, Tatrika Graphenreed, Nakia Powell- Thomas, Rich Rubba Members Absent: Tim Doppel Representing the City: Melanie Davis Guests: Alysa Diebolt, Chris Kipp, Connie Maciejewski Meeting called to order at 6:04 p.m. M. Davis introduced Connie Maciejewski who is interested in being appointed to fill the remainder of Ricardo Harris’ term now that he has moved out of Sterling Heights. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion to approve the meeting minutes of the November 16, 2022 CommUNITY Alliance made by R. Rubba; Seconded by S. Bahri and voted all in favor. AGENDA ITEMS: A. Pride Picnic – Chris Kipp and Alysa Diebolt from Macomb County Pride shared information about last year’s picnic and what they’d like to see a partnership with the Alliance look like for the 2023 picnic on Sunday, June 25. This is a “BYO” picnic with maybe 2-3 food trucks on site. They are looking for outdoor games as well but no vendors. The goal for the event is “community.” Anticipated crowd is 500 people over four hours. Alysa said she would get M. Davis their “wish list” for picnic logistics so she can coordinate reservation of the DPFM Pavilion and make sure the Parks and Recreation Department is able to accommodate all logistical needs for the event. B. Group Bonding Exercise – N. Powell-Thomas conducted a bonding exercise called “Can You Remember When You Were 10” in honor of her daughter’s 10th birthday. This required the group to share their favorite memories of what their life was like when they were 10. C. Strategic Plan Updates a. Macomb Student Diversity Summit – M. Davis and S. Bahri are lined up to open the session on Feb. 14 at MISD. We have two confirmed students for the panel, and two additional students pending. Alliance members drafted questions they thought would be important to ask the students, relating to the Summit’s theme of “The Power of Your Story.” M. Davis will be sure the students receive the questions in advance of the panel in plenty of time to prepare. b. DEI Networking Event - N. Powell-Thomas discussed her idea for holding a networking type of diversity event, and M. Davis recommended the City host it as a newly re-imagined “new resident forum.” M. Davis will contact some local restaurants to see if they would be willing to do free light appetizers and cash bar on Tuesday, May 23. We can hold an ice breaker, talk about why DEI is important to Sterling Heights, discuss City communication channels, and have a feedback session on what new residents would like to see in their community. c. Cultural Exchange – C Bjornson and R. Rubba have agreed to staff the CommUNITY Alliance table at the Feb. 24 event where we will have a couple of the Disability Awareness Workshop modules available for individuals to try and flyers to promote the March 1 full event. d. Disability Awareness Workshop – PCSI will sponsor the rental of the modules for $500. They may also provide a few volunteers for the group. R. Rubba agreed to reach out to local businesses to see if he can get a few gift card donations as raffle prizes to incentivize attendance. M. Davis said we can also provide light refreshments. Module pick up and return has been confirmed with SH Facilities Maintenance. M. Davis will email the promotional flyer to all Alliance members. C. Bjornson will confirm whether we need to add the DAW logo to the flyer. e. Human Library – We have three confirmed books and one pending. C. Bjornson agreed to be a book. T. Graphenreed said she knows an MSP police officer that would like to be a “book” as well. This means we likely only need another 1-2 books for the event. M. Davis will be coordinating phone interviews with “books” soon. She will also email  the link to apply to be a book to the Alliance members. The group would like to find a “book” with a title related to mental health if possible. f. Due to time constraints, discussion on the DEI checklist/barrier free gaps and Resolutions/Social Media were moved to the February agenda. OLD BUSINESS: There was no old business at this time. NEW BUSINESS: There was no new business at this time. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 7:41 p.m.