OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Anchorage Assembly Work Session on Office of Equity and Inclusion Interim Annual Report, September 5, 2025

Assembly & Committee Meetings — Friday, September 5, 2025
BodyAnchorage, Alaska
SessionAssembly & Committee Meetings
DateFriday, September 5, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:53

Is that you, Casey, or is that um your wife who's joining us from far away?

1:00

I'm here.

1:01

Is that Amy?

1:04

It is.

1:05

Your phone comes up as Casey.

1:07

So I I wasn't like leaning onto him for that.

1:11

It just was what the caller ID said.

1:13

So are you like traveling across the pond?

1:17

No, I am uh standing in Kansas City.

1:23

Sweet.

1:24

Well, I just saw a Portugal picture, maybe or something like that.

1:26

So we'll get started in just a little bit.

1:28

Yeah, I was there.

1:30

Okay.

1:31

Glad you're here.

1:32

I'm glad we clarified that before we start recording.

1:39

Yeah, your caller ID misgenders you.

2:01

Okay.

2:06

Okay.

2:14

All right.

2:14

We'll go ahead and call to order this work session of the anchored assembly.

2:19

Today is September 5th, 2025.

2:24

We're here to have a briefing on the Office of Equity and Inclusion Interim Annual Report for 2025.

2:33

And there's a number of items that are underneath that.

2:36

And we'll first start with introductions.

2:38

Umoro Silvers, Anna Brawley.

2:42

Christopher Constant, we have with us from the Office of Equity Inclusion.

2:46

Kim Waller and Lupa Chavez.

2:49

So you have to speak into the mic.

2:52

With the green light on.

2:57

Lupe Chavez.

2:58

And then you press it again to turn it off.

3:00

So then you don't have a hot mic moment.

3:02

So and on the phone we have our friend Amy Kaufman.

3:08

Present.

3:09

Hello.

3:10

There was an echo of a warm kind of sounds when I said your name, just so you know, Amy.

3:18

So um, okay, we're gonna start with the presentation by Ms.

3:21

Waller, Miss Wall, you have the floor.

3:24

Thank you, Chair Constant.

3:25

And thanks to those of you who are here and joining us today.

3:28

My name is Kim Waller.

3:30

I serve as the chief equity officer in the Office of Equity and Inclusion.

3:34

And next to me, I have Lupe Chavez, who is our junior admin in the Office of Equity and Inclusion.

3:40

And this is our interim annual report.

3:42

And so this is meant to kind of serve as as an overview of the annual report uh for the Office of Equity and Inclusion.

3:49

That will be provided to you at the top of the year.

3:52

But we wanted to take this opportunity to share a little bit more about our work and where we're at in this office, and of course, always welcome your feedback and any additional questions you may have.

4:08

And really before I get started here with these slides, you know, just to share, there have been some changes made to the office.

4:13

So we were formerly named the Office of Equity and Justice.

4:17

Uh, but one of the things that I prioritize when taking the role is meeting with as many of the directors as possible to get an idea of their perceived, I guess, uh, you know, function of the office and listening as to, you know, where they felt that we could and sh and should best serve.

4:36

And so one of the things that we quickly quickly identified was that the name justice um was misleading.

4:42

I think that in the context of our uh office that justice may have a legal connotation, and we are not lawyers, nor do we practice law um in that office.

4:52

And so it was changed to the office of equity and inclusion to help better define, I think the vision for for who we should be and who we wanted to be.

5:00

And so, you know, I feel that this office is very much the people's office, and it should be a collective and shared vision and uphold the vision of the municipality to consider equity and inclusion at the heart of the many decisions that we make.

5:16

And so those meetings resulted in a name change to the Office of Equity and Inclusion.

5:20

And so I'm going to click here to the next.

5:22

Hopefully, all goes my okay.

5:23

There it goes.

5:24

All right.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Community Engagement███████████████████████████████████████39%
Language Access█████████████████████████████29%
Equity in Transportation████████████12%
Technology and Innovation███████7%
Racial Equity██████6%
Procedural████4%
Native Rights███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Anchorage Assembly Work Session on Office of Equity and Inclusion Interim Annual Report, September 5, 2025

The Anchorage Assembly held a work session on September 5, 2025, to receive a briefing on the Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI) Interim Annual Report for 2025. Chief Equity Officer Kim Waller presented the report, highlighting the office's focus areas: language access, equal employment opportunity (EEO), the Native Village of Eklutna educational opportunity, and MuniWorks AK outreach. The session included updates on language access improvements, recommendations from contractor Amy Kaufman, and discussions on social media engagement. No formal actions or votes were taken; the briefing was informational.

Presentation and Discussion

  • Name Change: The office was renamed from Office of Equity and Justice to Office of Equity and Inclusion to avoid the legal connotation of "justice" and better define its mission.
  • Language Access: Lupe Chavez, junior admin, detailed efforts to update Language Link accounts, re-establish inactive accounts, and ensure all outward-facing departments have designated language access representatives. She also worked to add 911 priority for fire and police departments and updated the municipal language access policies (16-6).
  • Amy Kaufman's Recommendations: Kaufman, a former language access contractor, provided several recommendations:
    • Mandatory annual training for new and existing employees on language access, with deeper training for language access representatives.
    • Updating technology, including on-demand video interpretation for foreign languages and ASL.
    • Issuing a new RFP for interpretation services to diversify vendors and technological capabilities.
    • Establishing a bilingual staff compensation policy with language skill assessments and interpreter training.
    • Creating a dedicated Language Access Coordinator or Manager position.
    • Improving data collection and monitoring through IT collaboration.
    • Promoting plain language to reduce translation costs.
    • Developing a funding mechanism, such as a language access pool shared across departments.
  • EEO: The office distributes quarterly EEO policy statements to directors; compliance with federal requirements is maintained.
  • Native Village of Eklutna: The first educational opportunity for municipal employees was held at the Wilda Marston Theatre, well attended both in person and online. Future events may take place at the Native Village.
  • MuniWorks AK: Social media outreach via Facebook and Instagram has grown, with interactive segments like "People of the Muni" that humanize municipal employees. The office aims to distill government information and provide hyperlinked resources.
  • Other Work: OEI implemented exit and transfer interviews (now three months old), supports RFPs (e.g., APD training, leadership training), participates in community events (Pride Parade, MOA 50), and advocates for residents and internal departments (e.g., People Mover funding, HOPE team resources). Monthly mayor visits and a religious leaders convening were also noted.
  • Member Brawley's Question: Asked about the nature of social media engagement beyond likes. Waller responded that comments often focus on "People of the Muni" segments, which help demystify government roles and functions, and emphasized the office's goal to make information accessible and actionable.

Key Outcomes

  • No votes or formal decisions were made; the session served as a briefing only.
  • OEI will provide a full annual report at the top of 2026, including data on language access usage, program reach, budget needs, and insights from exit/transfer interviews.
  • Future work includes continued collaboration with assembly members on budget education, public safety, and property tax issues.
  • The office plans to seek a part-time contractor for social media and explore additional resources for capacity.

Meeting Transcript

Is that you, Casey, or is that um your wife who's joining us from far away? I'm here. Is that Amy? It is. Your phone comes up as Casey. So I I wasn't like leaning onto him for that. It just was what the caller ID said. So are you like traveling across the pond? No, I am uh standing in Kansas City. Sweet. Well, I just saw a Portugal picture, maybe or something like that. So we'll get started in just a little bit. Yeah, I was there. Okay. Glad you're here. I'm glad we clarified that before we start recording. Yeah, your caller ID misgenders you. Okay. Okay. All right. We'll go ahead and call to order this work session of the anchored assembly. Today is September 5th, 2025. We're here to have a briefing on the Office of Equity and Inclusion Interim Annual Report for 2025. And there's a number of items that are underneath that. And we'll first start with introductions. Umoro Silvers, Anna Brawley. Christopher Constant, we have with us from the Office of Equity Inclusion. Kim Waller and Lupa Chavez. So you have to speak into the mic. With the green light on. Lupe Chavez. And then you press it again to turn it off. So then you don't have a hot mic moment. So and on the phone we have our friend Amy Kaufman. Present. Hello. There was an echo of a warm kind of sounds when I said your name, just so you know, Amy. So um, okay, we're gonna start with the presentation by Ms. Waller, Miss Wall, you have the floor. Thank you, Chair Constant. And thanks to those of you who are here and joining us today. My name is Kim Waller. I serve as the chief equity officer in the Office of Equity and Inclusion. And next to me, I have Lupe Chavez, who is our junior admin in the Office of Equity and Inclusion. And this is our interim annual report. And so this is meant to kind of serve as as an overview of the annual report uh for the Office of Equity and Inclusion. That will be provided to you at the top of the year. But we wanted to take this opportunity to share a little bit more about our work and where we're at in this office, and of course, always welcome your feedback and any additional questions you may have. And really before I get started here with these slides, you know, just to share, there have been some changes made to the office. So we were formerly named the Office of Equity and Justice.

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