FORT MYERS, Fla. — Mayor Kevin Anderson is convening a new group that will be known as the Mayor’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee (MDEIAC). The committee has 22 members and is divided into three pillars: socioeconomic empowerment; community engagement; and homelessness.
The committee has been working since the beginning of the year, and will present findings to date during the meeting at 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 29. The meeting is open to the public and take place in City Hall council chambers, located at 2200 Second Street, in Fort Myers. To join the meeting via Zoom from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device, please use the following link: https://cityftmyers.zoom.us/j/99905675729
The new iteration grew from the first diversity and inclusion committee initiated by former mayor Randy Henderson. Dr. Peter Ndiang’ui, president of the African Network of Southwest Florida and professor at Florida Gulf Coast University, is the chairperson of the new MDEIAC committee. Committee members were selected balancing race and ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality, professions, age, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, disability status and more.
Socioeconomic Empowerment – Pillar One committee members are Dan Oberski (chairperson), Neftali Feliciano, Dr. Colin Feng, Dr. Max Stein, Lydia Black, Antwon Lindsey and Colleen DePasquale.
Community Engagement and Education – Pillar Two committee members are Kathy Dupuy-Bruno (chairperson), Waneka McFarlane, Dr. Brian Gibson, Patricia Sala, Molly Deckart and Ahmed Khan.
Housing and Homelessness – Pillar Three committee members are Roy Kennix (chairperson), Jacqueline McMiller, Tosha Battle, Bev Larson, Dr. Jaffer Hameed and Crystal Torres-Nunez. Steve Wassman is the organizing secretary.
For more information, please contact Kim Harris, legislative administrator, at 239-321-7020 or via email at kharris@cityftmyers.com.
