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City of Tukwila <br />Allan Ekberg, Mayor <br />INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM <br />TO: Community Service & Safety <br />FROM: Niesha Fort -Brooks, Community Engagement Manger <br />CC: Mayor Ekberg <br />Date: September 9, 2021 <br />Subject: Community Connectors Program Update <br />ISSUE <br />Staff is updating the Community Service & Safety Committee on the City of Tukwila's <br />Community Connectors Program. <br />BACKGROUND <br />The Community Connectors program was created to improve outreach and <br />engagement with communities historically underrepresented in the civic process, and <br />improve inclusion in decisions that impact these communities. The City partnered with <br />community members of all ages and backgrounds to act as liaisons and facilitate <br />communication between the City and the community. The City contracted with <br />nonprofits to administer the program. <br />In 2019 it became clear that the program was becoming ineffective and transactional. <br />Neither the needs of the communities the City was seeking to serve, nor the City were <br />being met with the way the program was running. As a part of the budget reductions <br />associated with the Pandemic, and because the program was not then being <br />successful, funding for the program was eliminated for 2021 and 2022. <br />DISCUSSION <br />However, staff has taken this opportunity to work with the community to revamp the <br />Connectors program. This year, staff recruited a diverse group of community members <br />to participate in a new Community Connectors Advisory Committee (CCAC) to discuss <br />and co -create a new Community Connectors Program. Staff reached out to various <br />residents and community leaders that work with Tukwila's diverse residents who have a <br />deep understanding of community needs, lived experiences and all of whom lead with a <br />racial equity lens. The CCAC is comprised of the following: <br />• Diane Melgoza, former Community Connector and Community Health Worker <br />from Global to Local <br />• Hien Kieu, Executive Director - Partner In Employment <br />• Angela Taherazer, Day 1 Coordinator/Career Coach One Program Coordinator - <br />Refugee Women's Alliance <br />• Lina Sinton -Ali, Connection Desk Supervisor, Tukwila Health Point <br />• Margerat Bratcher, former Community Connector and Planning Commissioner <br />• Khang Nguyen, former City of Tukwila's High School Summer Intern <br />