City Council considered the Task Force's final report on November 1, 2021.

The Task Force was asked to identify areas of concern about EDI issues, prioritize the most crucial ones the City can affect through its policy choices and offerings and establish goals, objectives and suggestions for addressing the identified issues. The recommendations developed over the last 7 months with input from the Task Force and other members of the community, reflect opportunities for the City and other community partners to address EDI in five key areas:

• Safe and welcoming environment (including language justice)
• Housing
• Public accommodation/access to services
• Youth engagement
• Public health

The Task Force’s final report includes both and short and long-term action items to accomplish the strategies included in each of these key areas. Council will continue the discussion in January and direct City staff on which items to focus on starting in 2022.

The Task Force will meet once per month from May to November 2021.

• May 20 Meeting Agenda & Packet Materials
• June 23 Meeting Agenda & Packet Materials
• July 29 Meeting Agenda & Packet Materials
• August 19 Meeting Agenda & Packet Materials
• September 23 Meeting Agenda & Packet Materials
• October 28 Meeting Agenda & Packet Materials
• November 1 with City Council

For the foreseeable future, the Task Force will meet online through Zoom meetings. The City will accommodate any Task Force members who do not have technology for online meetings.

The Task Force shall identify areas of concern about EDI issues, prioritize the most crucial ones the City can affect through its policy choices and offerings, and establish goals, objectives, and suggestions for addressing the identified issues.

1. Gather community input through public process, such as meetings and surveys.
2. Identify what EDI issues are most important to address to make Louisville a more welcoming place for people of any race, background, gender identity, nationality, religion, or economic status to live, visit, shop, use City services, and/or work, such as land use, transportation, and business-related issues (e.g., attraction, development, and retention of racially diverse business owners; procurement; and patronage of Louisville businesses), and may identify other issues as well.
3. Develop discrete written short-term and long-term recommendations to identify the following, focusing on community aspects of EDI versus the internal organizational operations of the City:
   1. The four to five most important areas of concern about EDI the City Council should address.
   2. The goals and objectives the City Council should seek to achieve in each of these areas of concern.
   3. Some short-term and long-term tactics or approaches the City Council should consider in meeting these goals and objectives.
   4. Identify opportunities for community enrichment, engagement, and education.
4. Provide monthly updates to the City Council as to the Task Force’s activities and planned next steps.

In order to carry out this work to drive transformative change within the City and to meet the needs of the community, residents, and businesses, the City of Louisville is currently in the process of hiring a collaborative partner or partners to advance the work of the EDI Task Force. The City understands a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion will require a long-term, focused effort and is receptive to expertise and knowledge in the implementation of the Task Force and its goals as defined above. 

Task Force members are required to:

• Attend regularly scheduled meetings in person or virtually
• Maintain a respectful and professional decorum at all times
• Regularly obtain feedback from the community

In June 2020, the City Council expressed strong interest in addressing community concerns about issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion (“EDI”), and organized listening sessions that were held in August and September with the assistance of a consultant for the City Council to gain initial input from members of the community. These community conversations demonstrated there is interest on the part of Louisville residents and others to address EDI issues. 

City Council finds there is a need for a community-based effort to move from introducing hard conversations about EDI issues to having courageous conversations about which issues are most important and what the City can and should do to address them based on fuller information about the concerns, ideas, and expectations of the community, especially residents who are Black, Indigenous, people of color or other racially diverse business owners, workers, and consumers. 

On January 19, 2021, City Council established an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Task Force to provide advisory recommendations to the City Council with respect to community issues affecting Black, Indigenous, people of color, and people with other diverse backgrounds.

City Council decided that the Task Force will consist of 11 members that include City residents and nonresidents, homeowners and renters, business owners, Black, Indigenous, or other racially diverse business owners located within or outside the City, employees from various industry sectors within the City, community activists and leaders, and youth and those who work with youth. The Task Force membership will represent diverse backgrounds and experiences, including race, gender, age, nationality, religion, economic and other diverse perspectives. All are welcome to apply; representation from historically marginalized and underrepresented groups are especially vital for this community discussion.

Recruitment for Task Force membership took place in February and March 2021. It was advertised through City digital and print communications channels and shared with community stakeholder groups in English and Spanish. 

Stephanie is a stay-at-home mother, who has been living in Louisville for over a decade with her partner and two children. She moved to Colorado in 2009 to pursue a PhD in Curriculum & Instruction, Physics Education at the University of Colorado at Boulder. From 2009 to 2012 Stephanie’s served as a both research assistant and graduate student lecturer for several CU undergraduate courses.

From 2012 to 2014 Stephanie served as the Diversity Coordinator for the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s Computational and Information Systems Lab. In this role, Stephanie served on and worked with several cross-organizational/institutional committees - reviewing internal proposals for diversity-related activities on the NCAR Diversity Committee, assisting in institution-wide diversity initiatives, creating NCAR’s 1st Computational Geoscience Externship for non-traditional students, and serving as diversity and education consultant to the uASC/uFORUM Visioning Committee, and the UCAR Education Group.

Stephanie has also worked with many institutions and groups to increase participation and retention of women, minorities, and nontraditional students in STEM. Some of these collaborations include working with Wyoming and Montana Girl Scouts Troops, Wyoming GearUp, Wyoming Cowboy Challenge Academy, Salish Kootenai College, and the University of Wyoming Strategic Diversity Initiatives Committee to unify HBCUs, MSIs, TCUs, HSIs, and community colleges recruitment efforts.

Louisville has been my home since I moved here in 1981. My husband and I raised our son here surrounded by great neighbors, access to open spaces and growing opportunities for entertainment and recreation. My life as an activist began when I was a teenager in the late 60s and twice participated in a student exchange between my all-white high school in the suburbs and an all-Black high school in the city. I have lived in Israel, Mexico and in Finland where I was as a Fulbright Scholar. My career as an educator included roles as an English language and bilingual classroom teacher, district administrator and independent consultant.

I recently retired from CU Denver as a Clinical Professor Emeritus in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education. I have taught students of all ages from all over the world, in particular Puerto Rican, Mexican, Hmong, and Vietnamese. These experiences confirm the value of diversity and multilingualism, as well as the need to counteract forces like racism and anti-immigrant sentiments that marginalize some communities while privileging others. Now that I am retired and have more time, I want to bring my expertise to my home community to help make Louisville a more welcoming and inclusive place for people of all racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds.

I am from Queens, NY and a diehard New York Mets fan. I have a passion for civil service with an emphasis on helping marginalized communities be seen and heard. I love kids and enjoy seeing the world through their eyes. No matter what setting I am in, I try to convey that nothing is impossible if we work together. 

Francisco is a financial consultant for Ernst & Young. He is currently assigned on a project for the U.S. Army and is responsible for Real Property Inventory and audit remediation.

Francisco’s previous career was with the U.S. Coast Guard where he oversaw financial operations for the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and worked with the Diversity Officer to improve recruitment of underrepresented minorities. Prior to that, he served as the Comptroller for Coast Guard Headquarters and other major commands. Born in San Isidro, Dominican Republic and raised in Union City, NJ, he is a graduate of Averett University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. He later attended Troy State University and earned a master’s in public administration. In his off-time, Francisco is currently pursuing a certificate from Cornell University on Diversity and Inclusion.

Francisco is passionate about Diversity and Inclusion. He has traveled the world and interacted, socialized, and worked with people from different backgrounds. He believes we can all learn a lot from a diverse population, and that understanding each other will improve the views and opinions of the Louisville community.  

He and his wife Susan have two grown children, Laura and Michael, and three grandchildren, Jack, Cameron and Everly. His hobbies include hiking, exercising, and spending as much time with the grandkids as possible. 

Jojo is a sophomore at Centaurus High School. They wanted to be part of the EDI task force because they believe that implementing positive change in Louisville can make a large difference to the community. They have been a part of several climate strikes and are currently participating in the LES Global Citizens Geography Club’s project to create a mural in Louisville about racial and climate justice. They are also involved with the LGBTQ+ community and work to make everyone feel accepted and safe. In their free time, Jojo enjoys playing piano, quilting, and hanging out with their cat, Sasha.

Grace is a Chinese Canadian who has lived in Louisville, Colorado for 11 years. She has lived and worked in Canada, the US and Hong Kong and has traveled widely in Europe and Asia.

Grace is an artist and transitional expert whose work is rooted in spiritual growth, transformation and healing. She guides clients who are moving through life transitions in meaningful ways, to deepen their understanding of the circumstances and allow for an intentional experience of life. She holds a BA in Psychology and an MA in Conscious Evolution.

With extensive study in how communities advance and evolve, Grace is deeply committed to the conversations of equity, diversity and inclusion and believes that significant change is possible.

Hazleena grew up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and braved moving solo to a new country (the USA) for college a couple decades ago. She lived in Chicago before moving to the mountain state to call Louisville, Colorado home. As an immigrant and a minority, she considers herself incredibly fortunate to have received support, mentorship, and exposure to success on this route called life. She believes strongly in the adage that “rising tide lifts all boats” and that work in EDI greatly moves the needle forward in that regard. She looks forward to serving the Louisville’s EDI Task Force and to help bring positive changes all around.

Devanand identifies as a Light-skinned Mestizo man. He grew up in a multiracial household and became curious about differences in race, culture, and identity from a young age. He spent his time in undergraduate and graduate school focused on psychology and understanding differences in how we might think, feel, and behave. 

Devanand’s work has been focused addressing disparities and challenges individuals face, particularly within mental health and justice settings. Devanand has been a resident of Louisville for 9 years, and cares passionately about supporting equity transformation for our community members. 

Ronald Reeves is the Assistant Athletic Director - Annual Giving, Premium Seating & External Operations at CU’s Buff Club. Reeves oversees Annual Giving, Premium Seating, External Operations, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Buff Club. Reeves previously served as the Director of Development - Major Gifts, before being promoted to the Assistant AD role in the spring of 2021.

Throughout his time in collegiate athletics, Reeves has served in various revenue generation roles at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), Southern Illinois University – Carbondale (SIU), University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee (UWM), University of North Carolina (UNC), and Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (AAMU). Prior to working with collegiate athletics, Reeves worked within the government and non-profit sector, including positions with the Pentagon Athletic Center, Parks & People Foundation, United States Air Force and Internal Revenue Service.

Reeves earned a bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM), where he was a member of the track and field team. Reeves holds a master's degree in sport management from Ithaca College, where he served as the men's track & field graduate assistant. Reeves is currently finishing his doctoral degree in higher education administration at SIU.

Reeves is a native of Detroit, Michigan and a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., the National Association of Athletic Directors of Development (NAADD), the National Association of Athletic Ticket Sales & Operations (NAATSO) and Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA). Reeves has one daughter, Marisah. His hobbies include traveling, attending concerts and events, hiking and outdoors, watching professional wrestling, philanthropy (Special Olympics especially) and spending time with his family.

Lyanne Terada is a Spanish teacher at a public high school in Colorado. She has lived in Louisville for the past 12 years and is happy to serve on the Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (EDI) Task Force for the City of Louisville.

I was born and went to undergraduate school in China before moving to the United States and attending graduate school. I had a 30-year professional career of international business in corporate America and played the role of Global Director at a global corporation before retiring at the beginning of 2021. In addition to enjoying retirement, I have been providing some Independent consulting on doing business globally. I have lived in Louisville since 1993. I absolutely love our city. I am passionate about equity, diversity and inclusion because these values will make Louisville a better place for ALL residents.