251110_CEC MEETING MINUTES.PDF
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Minutes of the Community Engagement & Connection Council Subcommittee meeting held on Nov. 10, 2025, 4:00 p.m., Hybrid Meeting – Tempe City Hall, 31 E. Fifth St.,3rd floor conference room and virtually through Microsoft Teams Members Present: Vice Mayor Doreen Garlid – Chair Councilmember Arlene Chin Councilmember Nikki Amberg City Staff Present: Rosa Inchausti, City Manager Eric Anderson, City Attorney Kara DeArrastia, City Clerk Keith Burke, Deputy City Manager Laura Calder, Financial Services Director Eric Iwersen, Transportation & Sustainability Director Kris Baxter, Director, Communications & Marketing Mary Mezey, Deputy Director, Community Health and Human Services Alex Jovanovic, Deputy Director, Community Services Shawn Wagner, Deputy Director, Community Services Delaina LeForce, Education & Career Coordinator, Community Services Shauna Warner, Neighborhood Services Director Melissa Westbrook, Council Assistant Parrish Spisz, Council Assistant Kimberly Sotelo, Sr. Management Assistant Tanya Chavez, Mayor and Council Relations Director Zeena Kilani, Council Intern Stakeholders: Dr. Elisa Kawam, ASU Suri Wall, Neighborhood Advisory Commissioner Lane Carraway, Neighborhood Advisory Commissioner Gace Wombacher, Mayors Youth Advisory Commissioner Braden Castaneda, Mayors Youth Advisory Commissioner Minutes Community Engagement & Connection Council Subcommittee Nov. 10, 2025 Members of the Public: Kendra Flory Diane Melrose Joy White Call to Order: 4:00 p.m. Agenda Item 1 – Public Appearances None. Agenda Item 2 – Youth Engagement and Connection Mayor’s Youth Advisory Commission (MYAC) Members, Grace Wombacher and Braden Castenada, presented effective methods to engage and connect with youth. Their overview provided insights into successful approaches to engage youth and ideas to consider to improve engagement and connection. The MYAC hosted “Tempe Youth Talks” which has proven to be a successful opportunity for youth engagement and is open to suggestions on how to expand and increase attendance. Resource-driven engagement also works. Grace and Braden noted there is high participation among students for food and clothing drives and there is high interest in meeting community needs. Student extracurriculars create connections and expand interests, and student leaders are key influencers. Grace and Braden suggested the idea for the City to host a student council conference. The suggested next steps are to socialize, network, engage which are three aspects to connecting with youth. Entertaining and informing youth are essential components to successful engagement, Grace and Braden cited the City of Goodyear TikTok as a good example. They suggested using more information language and to go where the youth are – schools, sports, etc. Discussion followed the presentation: Tempe TikTok is still new, and we are developing a youth outreach plan. Dr. Kawam noted that ASU is working on research that connects sports with a sense of belonging. What drives youth to be involved? Opportunities for new experiences, making the most of opportunities, the feeling of doing something, making the world better, being a part of community, contributing, making a difference, and having fun. Agenda Item 3 – Council Subcommittee Meeting Schedule The Subcommittee agreed to meet every third Tuesday of the month at 4 p.m. beginning in January 2026. Agenda Item 4 – Future Agenda Items Neighborhood Services will present on current City methods to engage the community. Next meeting date: Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025 Meeting adjourned at 4:37 p.m. Prepared by: Parrish Spisz, Council Assistant, (480) 350-8599 Reviewed by: Tanya Chavez, Mayor and Council Relations Director, (480) 858-2215