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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 01/08/2026Approved Minutes Eden Prairie Human Rights and Diversity Commission Meeting 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026 City Center Heritage Rooms 3 & 4 8080 Mitchell Road Eden Prairie, MN 55344 ATTENDEES Commission Members: Gregory Leeper, Chair; Asad Aliweyd, Shana Bates, Shalanda Berry, Zaheer Khan, Jody Knight, Jessica Oaxaca, Brenda Pfahnle, Wendi Russo, John Urbanski, Susan Weaver Student Commission Members: Nawal Abdullahi, Omar Abdulle, Abdulrahman Ali, Jia Chenchlani, Roshini Drakshapally, Ikra Ibrahim, Shivashish Khanna, Anjolaoluwa Raimi, Gatrika Ravella City Staff: Paja Xiong, Community Services Manager & Staff liaison; Julie Krull, Recorder MEETING AGENDA I. Call to Order/Roll Call Chair Leeper called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. Commission Members Aliweyd, Bates, and Khan, and Student Commission Members Abdullahi, Abdulle, Chenchlani, Drakshapally, Khanna, and Ravella were absent. Oaxaca arrived after the approval of the agenda and Berry arrived during Old Business. II. Introduction of Guests There were no guests this evening. III. Approval of Agenda MOTION: Weaver moved, seconded by Pfahnl, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 6-0. IV. Approval of the December 11, 2025 Meeting Minutes Urbanski had a change to the minutes on page 4, under 2026 Work Plan, number 1. The Commissions Banquet should be May 14th. MOTION: Knight moved, seconded by Russo, to approve the amended December 11, 2025 Meeting Minutes. Motion carried 7-0. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 8, 2026 Page 2 V. Community Presentation There was no presentation this evening. VI. Old Business A. 2026 Work Plan Xiong pointed out the Commissions Banquet is on May 14th, which is the same day as the May HRDC meeting and asked the Commission if they would like to have a meeting on May 7th or cancel the meeting. Weaver suggested canceling the meeting and Chair Leeper agreed that the meeting should be canceled. Chair Leeper said the Human Rights Awards are typically done in the Spring and stated Xiong suggested moving the awards to the Fall to allow more time to focus on them. Chair asked for feedback from the Commission and the consensus was to move the awards to the Fall. Xiong responded in the first quarter of the year the Commission will focus on the Words in Action contest and after that focus on planning for PeopleFest. Urbanski commented PeopleFest is in July and the Commission should have a few months to prepare for this event and that should be added to the 2026 Work Plan. Urbanski asked Xiong if there were any issues with moving the Human Rights Awards to the Fall. Xiong said she had previously reached out to City Staff and they were fine with moving it to the Fall. Xiong stated she had some topic suggestions for speakers; Advocates for Human Rights and PFAT. Xiong asked the Commission if there were any City Departments they would like to have come and talk to the Commission. Russo suggested having someone speak on affordable housing. Xiong said that would be her department. Weaver suggested having Susan from the Senior Center come speak to the Commission. Xiong also suggested someone from Senior Community Service. Pfahnl suggested a representative from the State Department of Human Rights. Russo said she would like to have someone discuss disabilities. Pfahnl suggested community liaisons from the school. Xiong commented having the Eden Prairie Police Department revisit the Commission with an update. Xiong said she will reach out to suggested speakers and have one speak at every meeting. Xiong asked for a motion to approve the 2026 Work Plan. MOTION: Urbanski moved, seconded by Russo, to approve the 2026 Work Plan. Motion carried 8-0. Xiong stated the 2026 Work Plan will be presented to the City Council at their February 10th meeting. Chair Leeper said he could present the work plan to the City Council. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 8, 2026 Page 3 B. Words in Action Scoring Xiong said this contest will close on January 20th and scoring will be from January 20th to January 25th. Xiong asked for volunteers to assist with the scoring. She illustrated the spreadsheet for the scoring and ranking process. She stated there will be two winners per category from the two different age groups and two honorable mentions. The age groups are K-8th grade, and 9th – 12th grade. It was decided to have all of the Commissioners participate in the scoring process. The student volunteers, that were discussed in the December 2025 meeting, to present to the City Council were, Ali, Raimi, and Ravella. Berry said she could also volunteer. Xiong asked all the Commissioners and students to spread the word regarding the contest. VII. New Business A. Community Conversation Proposal Xiong displayed a PowerPoint discussing the Community Conversation proposal. She would like to discuss the event title. Below are the options: 1. Voices Rising: A Community Conversation with BIPOC Youth 2. Future Builders: Youth-led Dialogue for Community Change 3. Here to Listen: A community conversation with BIPOC Youth After some discussion by the Commission, it was decided to go with option 2; Future Builders: Youth-led Dialogue for Community Change. Xiong said the event duration is 1 to 1.5 hours. The location will be Eden Prairie High School during Culture Week, which is February 9th-12th and will be held during lunch time or after school. Xiong said the event description is as follows: The Human Rights and Diversity Commission (HRDC) would like to host a youth-led community roundtable that brings together Eden Prairie High School students to discuss the issues they see and experience in their daily lives. Through guided conversation, the students will share their perspectives on topics such as safety, belonging, and opportunities for students at Eden Prairie High School. The goal is to create a collaborative space where young voices are centered and ideas for action are generated. This dialogue will help shape future HRDC initiatives and ensure that youth concerns are heard and valued. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 8, 2026 Page 4 Xiong pointed out the Community Conversation Logistics. They are as follows: 1. Potentially 3-5 tables with an HRDC Commissioner facilitating/note taking. 2. There will be 10–15-minute conversations with a large group discussion at the end. 3. The goal is to hear from BIPOC youth and hopefully gather information on how to guide our work moving forward. Xiong displayed the Community Conversation Questions and asked the Commission to choose the questions they would like to address. They are as follows: 1. What is one thing you wish adults or leaders understood about your experience as a young person? 2.. What kind of support (mentors, safe spaces, mental health, cultural programs, etc.) do you wish was more available to you? 3. What does Human Rights mean to you? Is there a human rights issue you would like to tackle? 4. How do you envision yourself to be involved in Eden Prairie? How do you envision students can be more involved in decision-making in the community? Chair Leeper asked how many questions should be addressed. Xiong suggested 3 questions at 15 minutes each. After some discussion with the Commission, it was decided to address all four questions above. Xiong said in regards to the Large Group Discussion the Commission should choose one of the three questions below to have a 5–10-minute discussion. They are: 1. Based on the topics discussed today, how can young people and adults work together to continue to make progress on topics discussed today? 2. Based on the topics discussed today, what is one realistic step you could start working on right now? 3. Based on the topics discussed today, who are the key people to reach out to? After some discussion the Commission decided to go with option 2. Xiong said she will reach out to Nalanda at the Eden Prairie High School so she can share this information with the school administration. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 8, 2026 Page 5 Xiong said the next steps for the Commission to follow are the following: 1. Sign up for the Community Conversation. 2. Sign up for scoring Words in Action contest. 3. Attend the Council Workshop and City Council Meeting on February 10th. VIII. Next Meeting: February 12, 2026 IX. Adjournment MOTION: Weaver moved, seconded by Berry, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 8-0. Chair Leeper adjourned the meeting at 8:05 p.m.