REGULAR MEETING OF THE JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2025, 3:00 PM. AUSTIN CITY HALL, BOARDS & COMMISSIONS ROOM 1101 301 W 2ND ST. AUSTIN, TEXAS Some members of the Joint Inclusion Committee may be participating by videoconference. Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely via telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once either in-person or remotely and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for remote participation by telephone. To register to speak remotely, contact Ryan Sperling, 512-974- 3568, ryan.sperling@austintexas.gov CURRENT COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Primary Representative: Alternate Representative: Justin Parsons Alexandria Anderson Nirali J Thakkar Nayer Sikder Member Commission: African American Resource Advisory Commission Asian American Quality of Life Advisory Commission Commission for Women Commission on Aging Diana Melendez Richard Bondi (Vice Chair) Commission on Immigrant Affairs Melissa Ortega Commission on Veterans Affairs Bryce F Laake-Stanfield Early Childhood Council Hispanic/Latino Quality of Life Resource Advisory Commission Human Rights Commission LGBTQ Quality of Life Advisory Commission Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities Alice Navarro Amanda Afifi (Chair) Jeffrey Clemmons Jerry Joe Benson Lisa Chang AGENDA CALL TO ORDER PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL Becky Bullard Teresa Ferguson Miriam Dorantes Vacant Andrea McIllwain Daniela Silva Muneeb "Meebs" Aslam Katie Coyne Conor H. Kelly The first ten speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three-minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. 2. Approve the minutes of the Joint Inclusion Committee regular meeting on June 25, 2025. Approve the minutes of the Joint Inclusion Committee regular meeting on July 23, 2025. DISCUSSION ITEMS 3. 4. Discussion regarding accessibility frameworks, community needs, and usage of the City of Austin digital products. Presentation by Luisa Apolaya Torres, Sr. Service Designer, Communications & Technology Management Department. Discussion regarding the potential to create a secretary or parliamentarian officer role on the commission. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 5. 6. 7. Approve a recommendation to Council supporting an independent equity office. Approve the formation of a working group to finalize a recommendation regarding a revamp of Austin Police Department’s Office of the Community Liaison. Approve the formation of a working group to provide budget recommendations for the City of Austin’s FY2026-27 budget. WORKING GROUP UPDATES 8. Update from the Budget & …
JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2025 JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE SPECIAL CALLED MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2025 The Joint Inclusion Committee convened in a special called meeting on July 22, 2025, in the Boards and Commissions Room at City Hall located at 301 W 2ND St. in Austin, Texas. Chair Afifi called the Joint Inclusion Committee meeting to order at 3:11 p.m. Members in Attendance: Chair Afifi, Vice Chair Bondi, and Alternate Member Anderson. Members in Attendance Remotely: Commissioner Benson, Chang, Clemmons, Melendez, Ortega, and Alternate Member Sikder. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Joint Inclusion Committee special called meeting on July 11, 2025. A motion to approve the July 11, 2025, minutes was approved on Commissioner Chang’s motion, Commissioner Thakkar’s second on a 9-0 vote. A motion to reconsider Item 1 to replace the vote of Commissioner Thakkar with Alternate Member Sikder was approved on Commissioner Anderson’s motion, Commissioner Chang second on a 9-0 vote. The July 11, 2025, minutes were approved on Commissioner Chang’s motion, Commissioner Sikder’s second on a 9-0 vote. 2. Approve the minutes of the Joint Inclusion Committee regular meeting on June 25, 2025. A motion to postpone the item until August XX was approved on Vice Chair Bondi’s motion, Commissioner Benson’s second on a 9-0 vote. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 6. 7. Approve a recommendation to City Council regarding the proposed expansion of the Austin Police Department’s Office of the Community Liaison, including feedback and suggestions from Joint Inclusion Committee members. Discussion was held. Approve a recommendation to Council supporting an independent equity office. Item was postponed to August XX on Vice Chair Bondi’s motion, Commissioner Clemmons’ second on a 9-0 vote. JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2025 8. Approve membership changes to committee working groups. A motion to add the following members to working groups was approved on Commissioner Anderson’s motion, Commissioner Ortega’s second on an 9-0 vote. Future Commission Working Group Members: Chair Bondi, Vice Chair Afifi, Commissioners Clemmons and Laake-Stanfield. Legislative Working Group Members: add Commissions Clemmons and Laake- Stanfield. 9. Approve the committee’s 2024-2025 annual internal review report. Committee members discussed potential goals. No action taken. DISCUSSION ITEMS 3. 4. 5. Discussion regarding the possibility of creating an additional officer role, such as secretary, on the committee. Discussion was held. Discussion regarding promotion and virtual sessions of upcoming Know Your Commissions …
JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE (JIC) REGULAR MEETING MINUTES The JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE (JIC) convened a regular meeting on WEDNESDAY, JUNE, 25th, 2025, at 3:00 P.M. CST in the BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ROOM #1101 (301 W. Second Street, Austin, Texas 78701) Chair AMANDA AFIFI called the JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE meeting to order at 3:02 p.m. Commissioners in Attendance: Commission on Aging: Richard Bondi (Vice-Chair) Commission on Immigrant Affairs: Melissa Ortega Commission on Veterans Affairs: Bryce Laake-Stanfield Hispanic Latino Quality of Life Resource Advisory Commission: Amanda Afifi (Chair) Commissioners in Attendance Remotely: African American Resource Advisory Commission: Alexandria Anderson Asian American Quality of Life Commission: Nirali J Thakkar Commission on Immigrant Affairs: Miriam Dorantes Commission for Women: Diana Melendez Early Childhood Council: Andrea McIllwain Human Rights Commission: Jeffrey Clemmons LGBTQ+ Quality of Life Commission: Jerry Joe Benson Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities: Lisa Chang and Conor H. Kelly PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL Jenny E. Achilles, Commissioner from the Community Development Commission. Shares overview and purpose of the Community Development Commission. Monica Guzman, District 4 resident, organizer, and Equity Action Team member. Shares comments around the history of the Equity Division, the Equity Assessment Tool, Undoing Racism Workshops, establishing the Equity Division and Human Rights Division to have direct access to department directors and staff, public process for hiring of an Equity Officer. Alexia LeClerq, Community Powered ATX and PODER. Shares comments around Undoing Racism Workshops, emergency response, and funding for the immigrant affairs quality of life study. Celine Rendon, District 8 resident and Housing Justice Organizer. Shares comments 1 around the Equity Overlay Community Powered ATX presented a year ago. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE’s REGULAR MEETING May 28th, 2025. The minutes for the JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE’s MAY 28TH, 2025 MEETING were approved at the JUNE 25TH, 2025 MEETING on COMMISSIONER RICHARD BONDI’s motion, COMMISSIONER JEFFREY CLEMMONS’ second, on an 11-0 vote. STAFF BRIEFING 2. Staff briefing to provide an introduction and overview of the Office of Equity and Inclusion by Dr. Lindsey Wilson, Director, Office of Equity and Inclusion, Shafina Khaki, Human Rights Officer, Office of Equity and Inclusion, and Enrique Serrano, Civil Rights Officer, Office of Equity and Inclusion. Dr. Lindsey Wilson, Shafina Khaki, and Enrique Serrano share briefing to provide an introduction and overview at 7 mins and 11 secs of recording through 17 minutes and 45 seconds. Including information on the Office …
Access and Use of City of Austin’s Digital Products Seeking Joint Inclusion Committee’s Perspective on August 27th, 2025 Luisa Apolaya Torres, Sr. Service Designer CTM Digital Strategies & Solutions luisa.apolayatorres@austintexas.gov Digital Strategies & Solutions Team @ CTM Human-centered design Accessibility Virtual Reality AI Governance Forms Consolidation User Testing UX Design Advocating for great digital experiences for all city residents. What are digital products? City of Austin’s Website Service Portals (Austin 311 Online Portal, City of Austin Utilities, City of Austin Job Search, etc) Mobile Apps (CapMetro, Austin 311) Community Outreach Groups (Austin Public Health, SpeakUpAustin.org) What factors can affect access and use? Findability of Information Language Access Digital Literacy Language Literacy Accuracy of Information Familiarity with Resources Ease of Use Trust in the Product What does the use of digital products by the residents of your communities in Austin look like? What products do they access? How do they access? When do they access? What is their relationship with these products? Factors for Access and Use Digital literacy Findability of information English literacy Familiarity with resources provided by the city Trust in the product to find accurate information What can a reimagining of digital products accessible for your communities in Austin look like? What needs are already identified, if any? Are there opportunities to improve a current product? Are there opportunities to create a new digital product?
