Health and Human Development Committee Meeting – July 9, 2026: Appointments to Forest Park Advisory Board
Health and Human Development Committee Meeting – July 9, 2026
The Health and Human Development Committee met on July 9, 2026, at 9:10 AM. The primary agenda was the consideration of appointments to the Forest Park Advisory Board. Three candidates were nominated and unanimously approved. The committee also discussed future agenda items and noted the absence of a scheduled presentation on park rangers.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the previous meeting were approved unanimously (5 ayes) without discussion.
Discussion Items
- Appointments to Forest Park Advisory Board: Director Greg Hayes of the Forest Park Advisory Board introduced the candidates and described the board's role in advising the parks director, meeting 9-10 times per year. Alderwoman Clark Hubbard advocated for the candidates and noted that one candidate, Mr. Rosenberg, was unable to attend due to teaching commitments. The committee heard from each candidate present:
- Maria Cavden: Event operations manager at the St. Louis Art Museum, with experience balancing public access, institutional needs, and environmental stewardship in Forest Park. She highlighted her project management, operational leadership, and sustainability work.
- Vin Co: Director of community engagement at Nine PBS, with a background in community and economic development. He expressed a strong personal connection to Forest Park and a desire to contribute to its stewardship.
- Mr. Rosenberg (not present): A teacher nominated for a non-voting seat; his resume was provided and committee members spoke in support of his appointment.
- Future Committee Agenda: Chairwoman Boyd noted that the committee oversees matters related to children, health, parks, recreation, and park rangers. She suggested scheduling presentations from the recreation department and other entities for the next session. No specific additional speakers were identified at the meeting.
Key Outcomes
- Appointment of Maria Cavden: Motion to accept; approved unanimously (5 ayes).
- Appointment of Vin (Ben) Co: Motion to accept; approved unanimously (5 ayes).
- Appointment of Mr. Rosenberg: Motion by Alderman Odenberg, seconded by Alderwoman Keys; approved unanimously with no objections.
- Adjournment: Motion carried, meeting adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
Thank you. So good morning. Uh uh welcome to Health and Human Development Committee meeting for July the 9th. And uh it is now 9 0 9 10. And so madam Clerk, would you please call the role? Call the woman ties. Present. Present. Present. Chairboy. Present. Audible woman keys. You have five present. You have you have a corn. Okay. Uh thank you all, everyone for being here today. And uh now I'll ask for the approval of the minute. I move that we approve the minutes for the biggest meeting. Audible keys. Aye. Auto woman Sonier. Aye. Audder woman cock sentences. Aye. Chairboard. Aye. We have five eye votes. Thank you. We have no board bills for review, no resolutions for review. So our committee discussion today is the mayor's appointment of Dr. Carl Wilson. Oh no, this is the wrong. That's the old one. Okay. So today's meeting is the appointments of uh candidates for the forest park board. And so uh who do we have first? We have all the woman hubbert who is here representing them and uh advocating for them. So did you want to say a few words, auto woman hubbert? I did briefly. Thank you so much, Madam Chairman, members of the board. Thank you for taking the time uh to hear from these candidates today. I know we also have director Hayes here that I would love to be able to make an introduction as well and just to speak um to just briefly about the process that they go through, even before they come here. I want to thank them right for not just taking the time this morning, but for signing up to serve the city this way in this unique way. I attend these forest park um forever advisory board meetings. There is some amazing work that goes into this all volunteer board and some amazing people that have signed up um to take on this service. So with that if Mr. Uh Director Hayes is on. I would love uh for him to speak and I would um ask here one of our um appointees is a teacher, and so he would have never been able to make this time of meeting this morning, but that's why I um in this this time of morning meeting. So that's why I want to direct the Hayes to talk about the vetting that goes on. We have their resumes in the drive, and I'm asking that um as we also consider the two that are here that we consider uh Mr.
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