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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Hispanic Latinx Affairs Commission Meeting – August 13, 2026

City Council — Thursday, August 13, 2026

BodyTulsa, Oklahoma

SessionCity Council

DateThursday, August 13, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 3:00:00

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

2:22

Are we good?

2:26

No, it's okay, sorry, you guys like cut out sometimes.

2:28

So okay, perfect, thank you.

2:32

We are live.

2:34

All right, good evening, good afternoon, everyone.

2:36

Welcome, thank you for being here for our August Hispanic Latinx Affairs Commission meeting.

2:43

Um I'm gonna call the meeting to order, although I know we don't have quorum.

2:47

Would you mind please doing attendance?

2:50

For sure.

2:51

Amy Odiza present.

2:53

Carlos Becarano.

2:54

Present.

2:55

Chris Chavez.

2:56

I'm here.

2:57

Jacques Gonzalez, Jose Bamaca Hernandez, Mimi Martinez, Fatima Linares.

3:05

Jessica Lozano Alvarez, Mark Onesorge, Diana Pennington, Amanda Petagrina, Angelicara, Riley Howard, Andy Little, and Mariana Sanchez.

3:25

Thank you, ma'am.

3:27

As we are uh just shy of our quorum, we are going to move directly to our guest speaker and skip the approval of meeting minutes.

3:38

If you would just please take a look at those for next time.

3:41

Hopefully, we'll be prepared and we'll try again.

3:44

So at this time, Seriora, Marcia Bruno Todd, that means you'll have a little bit of extra time there.

3:51

Welcome, thank you for being here.

3:53

Thank you.

3:53

Would you like me to be here?

3:55

Standing near a microphone.

4:00

Okay, well, I will sit so that the mic for the recording.

4:03

Yeah, we have mics set up, so if you want to stand in the middle, you can.

4:06

Uh but wherever you're comfortable, it's good.

4:08

I'm a walker.

4:09

Yeah.

4:11

Is it so we have mics at the corners of the U table here?

4:16

Oh, this is the same.

4:17

So if you're in the middle, you'll be good.

4:19

Yeah, okay.

4:20

Hi.

4:38

A little bit about the Hispanic Leadership Institute.

4:40

It was established in 2017.

4:43

That was in the first class, which does give you a little bit of the close of the age that I got us and I have.

4:48

But anyway, in 2017, um, it was originally a partnership with at the time, the Tulsa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

5:00

And it was meant to increase Hispanic Latin representation in leadership positions across the city.

5:04

And it was kind of amorphous and in general.

5:08

And it's evolved.

5:10

Over the last now, 2017, nine years, seemed to be 10.

5:14

It has every we create an alumni advisory.

5:17

So every graduating class informed the direction and the content curriculum of the program.

5:24

So what started with just let's increase representation and show people that where we are at.

5:29

I remember to tease Garros in our cohort, we decided we need to show up in mass in spaces so that people can see that Latinos are here, right?

5:40

Like some of us, we kind of tease and said, How many have you have gone to Utica Square?

5:44

And not many people didn't like, we're gonna have a branch at Utica Square.

5:47

So everybody hears our Spanglish and our loud laughter and say that leadership can look like us, and we're gonna take up space at Utica Square.

5:54

It was something small like that, but then we decided like what would it look like if we supported each other, either running for office, serving on authority boards or commissions or nonprofit boards.

6:02

And the upcoming following classes, every alumni contributing the direction, they were much more intentional.

6:09

And the intentionality was how can this program it's not just for my personal leadership development, but the expectation when you're in the program is that you are giving back to community.

6:20

You are accountable to the community of Tulsa, you're accountable to the Latino community of Tulsa, and then just the greater state, right?

6:26

That was the expectation, and that included folks that quite frankly were wanting to bring in more data, right?

6:34

So we partnered with the city of Tulsa, we partnered with the Tulsa Air United Way, bringing in things like the equality indicators and the state of I think the state of the area that Tulsa United Way usually does, and they made a very specific presentation that in that showed us the demographic implications of the Hispanic Latina community.

6:53

And with that, the participants then decided with this data, what can we do with this given amount of time in the cohort?

7:01

How can we get back to community in a community project?

7:04

And some successful community projects that have that came from that were working with the Tulsa Health Department during the middle of pandemic.

7:12

We had uh it was this task force, it it feels like ages ago, right?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Historic Preservation█████████████████████21%

Community Engagement███████████11%

Procedural██████6%

Public Engagement██████6%

Mental Health Awareness██████6%

Public Safety█████5%

Solid Waste Management█████5%

Public Health████4%

Immigration████4%

Summary of Proceedings

Hispanic Latinx Affairs Commission Meeting – August 13, 2026

The Hispanic Latinx Affairs Commission met on August 13, 2026, at 11:30 AM. The meeting began without a quorum, so the commission moved directly to a guest speaker. After a quorum was achieved, the commission approved minutes, discussed committee reports, and took several votes.

Guest Speaker Presentation

Marcia Bruno Todd, Executive Director of Leadership Tulsa, presented on the Hispanic Leadership Institute (HLI). HLI was established in 2017 and has graduated approximately 180 alumni. The program focuses on increasing Hispanic/Latinx representation in leadership, with an emphasis on community projects and civic engagement. Todd requested partnership with the commission for an HLI alumni summit in spring 2027, including a workshop or panel on civic leadership and commission roles. Commissioners expressed support and discussed incorporating a feedback session from alumni.

Consent Calendar

Approval of Minutes: The commission voted to approve the minutes for April, May, and June 2026. Motion by Carlos Becarano, seconded by Mark Onesorge. All in favor, no opposition. (The meeting initially lacked quorum, but quorum was later achieved, allowing the vote.)

Public Comments & Testimony

No public comments were made by community members during the meeting.

Discussion Items

Chair/Vice Chair Report: The commission has met its tabling goal for the year (two events). Upcoming events requiring volunteer presence include Fiesta de Tulsa (September 19, 2:30-5:30 PM) and Festival de las Americas (September 26, 4:30-7:30 PM). Commissioners discussed creating a sign-up sheet with two time slots per day to encourage participation.
Human Rights Commission Liaison: Amanda Petagrina was nominated and unanimously voted to continue as the commission's liaison to the Human Rights Commission for a one-year term. The vote was moved by Carlos Becarano, seconded by Mark Onesorge, and passed unanimously.
Committee Reports:
- Public Safety: Amanda Petagrina reported on EMSA Care open enrollment (August 1-31). The program costs $5.45 per month per household and covers ambulance transport. Changes effective October 1 include rate increases for transport and a new treatment-in-place fee, but EMSA Care membership will cover these. The monthly membership fee is not changing. Commissioner noted that the uninsured will receive a 40% discount, and the treatment-in-place fee will not be charged to uninsured for the first two years. Materials are available in Spanish.
- Immigration: Commissioner reported that bonds for detained individuals with ICE holds have been reinstated, allowing them to apply for bond before a judge. However, there are concerns about practices in other states where detainees are threatened with deportation to another country if they do not sign voluntary departure. The commission will continue monitoring.
- Business Engagement: Kitchen 66 is relaunching its program with three remaining spots at a reduced fee of $100 (normally $500). The program starts August 17. The state of Oklahoma is hosting a food vendor expo on September 22-23 at State Fair Boulevard. Commissioner highlighted Jose's Venezuelan sausage business launching in Broken Arrow, and noted obstacles faced by Latino small business owners. The committee aims to compile a handbook for Latino entrepreneurs.
Old Business: A draft letter to local attorneys requesting pro bono legal support for immigration cases was discussed. The letter was prepared but not sent due to challenges with the commission's email. The commission agreed to create a Gmail account in the interim, as the city is working on official commission emails. No vote was needed; the action was noted.
New Business: Commissioner reported attending a meeting with the mayor regarding the selection of the next police chief for East Tulsa. The commissioner emphasized the need for more Hispanic police officers who understand the culture and language, citing a specific incident where a language barrier may have contributed to a fatal shooting. The commissioner urged recruiting more Hispanic officers.
Announcements: Commissioner attended a domestic violence prevention workshop and summit organized by the Women's Commission. The Circle of Peace program, funded by George Kaiser Family Foundation, was highlighted as an innovative intervention approach. The program has been operating for 18 months, with over 100 applicants and 30 participants currently enrolled.

Key Outcomes

Vote: Approved minutes for April, May, and June 2026 (unanimous).
Vote: Appointed Amanda Petagrina as Human Rights Commission liaison for a one-year term (unanimous).
Decision: The commission will participate in Fiesta de Tulsa (September 19) and Festival de las Americas (September 26) with volunteer tables. A sign-up sheet with two time slots per event will be circulated.
Decision: The commission will create a Gmail account to facilitate communication until official city emails are established.
Action Item: The letter to attorneys for pro bono immigration support will be revisited and sent using the new Gmail account.
Next Steps: The commission will follow up on the HLI alumni summit partnership after receiving survey results from the alumni (expected in two weeks).

Meeting Transcript

Are we good? No, it's okay, sorry, you guys like cut out sometimes. So okay, perfect, thank you. We are live. All right, good evening, good afternoon, everyone. Welcome, thank you for being here for our August Hispanic Latinx Affairs Commission meeting. Um I'm gonna call the meeting to order, although I know we don't have quorum. Would you mind please doing attendance? For sure. Amy Odiza present. Carlos Becarano. Present. Chris Chavez. I'm here. Jacques Gonzalez, Jose Bamaca Hernandez, Mimi Martinez, Fatima Linares. Jessica Lozano Alvarez, Mark Onesorge, Diana Pennington, Amanda Petagrina, Angelicara, Riley Howard, Andy Little, and Mariana Sanchez. Thank you, ma'am. As we are uh just shy of our quorum, we are going to move directly to our guest speaker and skip the approval of meeting minutes. If you would just please take a look at those for next time. Hopefully, we'll be prepared and we'll try again. So at this time, Seriora, Marcia Bruno Todd, that means you'll have a little bit of extra time there. Welcome, thank you for being here. Thank you. Would you like me to be here? Standing near a microphone. Okay, well, I will sit so that the mic for the recording. Yeah, we have mics set up, so if you want to stand in the middle, you can. Uh but wherever you're comfortable, it's good. I'm a walker. Yeah. Is it so we have mics at the corners of the U table here? Oh, this is the same. So if you're in the middle, you'll be good. Yeah, okay. Hi. A little bit about the Hispanic Leadership Institute. It was established in 2017. That was in the first class, which does give you a little bit of the close of the age that I got us and I have. But anyway, in 2017, um, it was originally a partnership with at the time, the Tulsa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. And it was meant to increase Hispanic Latin representation in leadership positions across the city. And it was kind of amorphous and in general. And it's evolved. Over the last now, 2017, nine years, seemed to be 10. It has every we create an alumni advisory. So every graduating class informed the direction and the content curriculum of the program. So what started with just let's increase representation and show people that where we are at. I remember to tease Garros in our cohort, we decided we need to show up in mass in spaces so that people can see that Latinos are here, right? Like some of us, we kind of tease and said, How many have you have gone to Utica Square? And not many people didn't like, we're gonna have a branch at Utica Square. So everybody hears our Spanglish and our loud laughter and say that leadership can look like us, and we're gonna take up space at Utica Square.

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