1 THESE MINUTES ARE NOT OFFICIAL UNTIL APPROVED BY THE
CULVER CITY EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE May 12, 2026
CULVER CITY EQUITY AND 5:00 P.M.
HUMAN RELATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA
Call To Order & Roll Call
Chair Renteria called the special meeting of the Culver City Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee to order in the Garden Room at the Veteran Memorial Building at 5:05 p.m.
Members Present: Denice Renteria, Chair
London McBride, Vice Chair*
Samia Bano, Member
Chaiya Jones, Member**
Haifaa Moammar, Member
Ifunanyachukwu Nweke, Member
Rebecca Rona-Tuttle, Member
Carlos Valverde, Member***
*Vice Chair McBride joined the meeting at 5:43 p.m.
**Member Jones exited the meeting at 6:15 p.m.
***Member Valverde exited the meeting at 6:15 p.m.
Staff Present: Michelle Hamilton, Deputy Human Resources Director
Jeannine Houchen, Human Resources Equity
Analyst
Monica Kilaita, Deputy City Attorney
Josseline Hernandez, Human Resources
Technician
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Pledge of Allegiance
Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee
May 12, 2026
2 Chair Renteria led the Pledge of Allegiance.
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Items from Members/Staff
Member Moammar shared books that she had brought from her home country for American Heritage Month.
Member Nweke reported that Jazz Hands for Autism was hosting their spring event on May 23 at Playa Studios.
Member Rona discussed a dedicated a time slot at each City Council meeting where a representative from any CBC
(Commission, Board or Committee) can provide an update that she felt they should take advantage of, and she announced the Ballona Discovery Park Migration Celebration on May 30, 2026.
Member Bano discussed Eid al-Adha.
Member Valverde reported that May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage month and Jewish American Heritage month; noted that May 17 is International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia; added that May 21 is World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development; and he stated that the days were out there even if not everyone was aware of them.
Member Nweke reported that May 21 is also Global Accessibility Awareness Day and May is Mental Health Awareness Month. o0o
Public Comment – Items NOT On the Agenda
Chair Renteria invited public comment.
Jeannine Houchen, Human Resources Equity Analyst, reported that no one had signed up to speak.
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Receipt of Correspondence
Jeannine Houchen, Human Resources Equity Analyst, reported that no correspondence had been received.
Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee
May 12, 2026
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Consent Calendar
None.
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Order of the Agenda
No changes were made
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Action Items
Item A-1
(1) Receive and File a Report from the Equity and Human Relations Award Ad Hoc Subcommittee; (2) If so desired, Discuss and Consider Approval of the Honoree Bios; and (3) Authorize the 2025-2026 Equity and Human Relations Award Ad Hoc Subcommittee to Complete and Submit the Applications for Recognition at a City Council Meeting using the Approved Biography for Each Honoree
Michelle Hamilton, Deputy Human Resources Director, reminded everyone that the role of the Chair and Vice Chair is to keep everyone on topic and eliminate cross-talk.
Member Rona discussed agreed upon nominees at the April EHRAC meeting; application to the City Clerk and Mayor to ask them to present a commendation to the four people selected; and the task of the Committee to read and consider the rewritten language for approval.
Discussion ensued between staff and Committee Members
regarding the task of editing and distilling wording from the nomination forms; minor grammatical and typographical
corrections were made; agreement to remove references to actions in Sameen Ahmadnia’s description that were not taken within the past year; the inability to add more information to a submitted form; language indicating that nominee
contributions must have occurred in 2025; suggestions to reorder certain sentences to improve flow; minor word
substitutions, additions, and changes; direct quotes vs. summarized information; making it clear that while Mass Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee
May 12, 2026
4 Liberation is headquartered in Torrance, Culver City
residents are served; information sent to the City Council; the separate section requesting details reflecting years of service in Culver City; agreement to omit the sentence
referencing service to Culver City residents in the
description as that information is included elsewhere on the application; being mindful not to use exclusionary language; and agreement to change wording regarding reentry of members to society in the eighth paragraph of the description for Joelle Kirtley.
Vice Chair McBride joined the meeting,
Additional discussion ensued between staff and Committee Members regarding wording referencing prisons being apart from society and interactions with ICE; appreciation for the recommendations; approval of amended language; and additional discussion about costs later.
MOVED BY MEMBER RONA, SECONDED BY MEMBER VALVERDE AND
UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED, THAT THE EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE:
1. RECEIVE AND FILE A REPORT FROM THE EQUITY AND HUMAN
RELATIONS AWARD AD HOC SUBCOMMITTEE; AND,
2. DISCUSS AND CONSIDER APPROVAL OF THE HONOREE BIOGRAPHIES AS AMENDED; AND,
3. AUTHORIZE THE 2025-2026 EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS AWARDS
AD HOC SUBCOMMITTEE TO COMPLETE AND SUBMIT THE APPLICATIONS
FOR RECOGNITION AT A CITY COUNCIL MEETING USING THE APPROVED BIOGRAPHY FOR EACH HONOREE.
Member Valverde noted that he and Member Jones would have to leave by 6:10 p.m.
Member Rona noted that this was the last meeting for Member Jones and expressed appreciation for her efforts serving on the Committee.
Chair Renteria thanked Member Jones for her contributions. o0o
Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee
May 12, 2026
5 Item A-2
(1) Receive and File a Report from the 2026-2027 Public Events, Projects, and Budget Ad Hoc Subcommittee; (2) Discuss and Consider Approval of the Report’s Recommendations; and (3) Determine Next Steps as Deemed Appropriate
Member Bano summarized the report included with the agenda; discussed the goal to propose events and projects for the Committee to choose from; the rough budget; potential
negotiation of lower rates for costs; flexible event dates; events related to recognizing, learning and celebration indigenous peoples; and rescheduling the previously deferred Community Courageous Conversation on support of LGBTQIA+ students.
Discussion ensued between staff and Committee Members
regarding use of a guide vs. a facilitator from the Parent’s Circle; flexibility with dates for certain events;
clarification on the purpose of the agenda item; work plan items; the limited budget; passage of the City budget; the title of the ad hoc subcommittee; vetting items through the Chair and staff; clarification that meetings cannot be held outside of City jurisdictional boundaries; the proposed joint meeting with the Historical Society; creation of ad hoc subcommittees at the next EHRAC meeting in July; the goal to have projections and be prepared for the work plan; the process for collaboration with the Historical Society;
support for the proposed Guashna event; openness of the Historical Society to collaboration; and Brown Act Rules associated with meetings.
Members Jones and Valverde exited the meeting.
Additional discussion ensued between staff and Committee Members regarding the LGBTQIA+ student presentation; the number of events planned for October; review of the timeline and expected dates; EHRAC support for United Against Hate events; staff workload; a suggestion to obtain community feedback on what they would like to see; changes in Culver City since the original survey in 2020; length of the survey process; conducting a survey while working behind the scenes and leaving space for final programming based upon feedback received; new Committee Members coming in; member preferences for a September event; support for the Stories and Facilitated Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee
May 12, 2026
6 Small-Group Discussion Theme event; coordination with staff to create a revised report for the next meeting; quality vs. quantity of events; providing an honorarium; research into costs; finding ways to honor speakers who help facilitate events; questions regarding the facilitator package for lifetime access; proper vetting to ensure that appropriate procurement standards are followed; the work of the Ad Hoc Subcommittee to create a revised report; the community survey on the Peace Resolution; allowing space for items that come from the City Council; ensuring a balance between projects and initiatives and events; ensuring that ongoing projects are rolled into the next work plan; the Youth Advisory Board; support for an event where people are able to provide
feedback; a suggestion to have fewer events next year; holding an information gathering event tied to the survey rather than a presentation; a suggestion to have a hybrid event; letting the public know about upcoming agenda items and inviting them to provide feedback; concern that leaving a survey open-ended discourages participation; being specific about what kind of feedback is being sought; listening sessions; and equity challenges for non-English speakers.
MOVED BY MEMBER BANO AND SECONDED BY CHAIR RENTERIA THAT THE
EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECEIVE AND FILE A REPORT FROM THE 2026-2027 PUBLIC EVENTS, PROJECTS, AND BUDGET AD HOC SUBCOMMITTEE.
THE MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES: BANO, MCBRIDE, MOAMMAR, NWEKE, RENTERIA, RONA
NOES: NONE
ABSENT: JONES, VALVERDE
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Public Comment – Items NOT On the Agenda (Continued)
Chair Renteria invited public comment.
Jeannine Houchen, Human Resources Equity Analyst, indicated that no requests to speak had been received.
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Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee
May 12, 2026
7 Items from Members/Staff
Discussion ensued between staff and Committee Members
regarding availability of the meeting minutes and the meeting video; a request from Member Valverde was relayed for upcoming agenda items including creation of ad hoc subcommittees for the new work plan and receipt of reports from the Diversity Awareness Ad Hoc Subcommittee and the Youth Advisory Ad Hoc Subcommittee; other agenda items including approval of the bi-annual report and approval of meeting dates; agreement to have an agenda item about the awards as well as a follow up report about projects, programs, and the budget;
consideration of the proposed community survey regarding feedback on EHRAC programs, actions, and projects by
corresponding event subcommittees; status of the Public Events Ad Hoc Subcommittee; approval of award
recommendations; timing for the awards; medallion ordering and costs; and Committee consideration of increased costs. o0o
Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee
May 12, 2026
8 Adjournment
There being no further business, at 6:52 P.M., the Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee adjourned to a meeting to be held on July 28, 2026, at 5:00 P.M.
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___________________________________________________________ Dana Anderson
SECRETARY of the Culver City Equity and
Human Relations Advisory Committee
Culver City, California
APPROVED
___________________________________________________________ Denice Renteria
CHAIR of the Culver City Equity and Human Relations
Advisory Committee
Culver City, California
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that, on the date below written, these minutes were filed in the Office of the City Clerk, Culver City, California and constitute the Official Minutes of said
meeting.
_________________________ _________________________
Jeremy Bocchino Date
CITY CLERK